Celestia’s native token, TIA, is undergoing a significant token unlock event, introducing approximately 175 million tokens to its circulation—nearly doubling the existing supply. This increase represents 80% of the current circulating tokens, worth around $900 million based on the asset’s current price, marking the largest single unlocking event since TIA’s launch last October.
The unlock primarily rewards early contributors and investors, with Core Contributors receiving 58 million tokens, seed investors gaining 52 million tokens, and early backers from Series A and B funding rounds obtaining 65 million tokens.
While token locking is a common strategy to stabilize market prices, large token unlocks can introduce volatility and downward price pressure. Some speculate this event could introduce up to $900 million in potential sell pressure. However, Taran Sabharwal, founder of OTC trading platform STIX, suggested the actual selling pressure may be closer to $460 million, as only 92.3 million TIA will likely be in circulation.
Sabharwal noted that many of these newly unlocked tokens had already been sold to OTC buyers who had hedged positions in perpetual futures markets, leading to high open interest. The unwinding of these short positions could partially offset spot-selling pressure, signaling a potential bullish opportunity for spot buyers.
