StarkWare Adjusts Starknet Token Unlocking Schedule

StarkWare adjusts Starknet (STRK) token unlocking schedule following concerns of potential dumping on retail investors.

As a result of worries that the first plan would enable the network’s investors to dump on retail Starknet customers, StarkWare has modified its schedule for unlocking the Starknet (STRK) token.

Due to the adjustments, the project will implement a “more gradual” token unlock timetable for its early contributors and investors. Implementing smaller and recurring token drops over three years, rather than a larger drop initially scheduled for just two months.

StarkWare, the developer of Starknet, stated in a post on February 22 through X that “in recent days, StarkWare reviewed feedback and decided to adjust the unlocking timeline, making it more gradual.

“64 million STRK tokens worth approximately $125.5 million will be released on April 15 as per the updated schedule. This represents 0.64% of the total supply of 10 billion STRK tokens.

Up to March 15 of next year, the unlock will continue at a rate of 64 million STRK per month. After that, it will increase to 127 million STRK per month for the subsequent two years; this will continue until March 15, 2027.

Originally, the plans aimed to unlock more than 1.3 billion STRK on April 15, just two months after launching the token on February 20. This would represent around 13% of the total supply of STRK, valued at more than $2.5 billion.

StarkWare stated that by the end of 2024, the new unlock plan will result in the unlocking of 580 million tokens held by early contributors and investors. This is a significant change from the prior schedule, which called for the unlocking of 2 billion tokens within the same timeframe.

It was a contentious feature for Starknet users and market commentators, who voiced their complaints about the short timetable, alleging that it would allow investors to utilize retail Starknet users as exit liquidity.

The original unlock schedule was a contentious detail. As of the two days following its launch, STRK has fallen about sixty percent from its peak price of $4.41 on February 20 to less than $1.90. 

CoinGecko reported that the price of STRK surged by approximately 5% in the last 24 hours, briefly exceeding $2 following StarkWare’s latest announcement.

During the airdrop on February 20, over 1.3 million wallets had access to 700 million STRK, resulting in a significant early takeup, with 45 million STRK being secured in the first hour and a half after allocations began.

People who are qualified have claimed more than 436 million STRK, representing about 94% of the total STRK available for distribution, according to data from Voyager.

According to DefiLlama, Starknet’s total locked value has also reached nine digits for the first time. It has increased by more than twice in the past 24 hours, reaching $118 million dollars.