Will Optimism (OP) Hold Up After the $180 Million Token Release?
The price of the cryptocurrency Optimism (OP) has dropped below the $1.30 mark in recent days, causing concern among investors and traders. This occurred following the official announcement by the project team regarding the release of tokens totaling around $180 million. In this article, we will explore the factors that could impact the future of OP cryptocurrency and identify trends based on the available information.
Airdrop and Private Token Sale: Reasons for the Price Decrease?
This week, the Optimism project team announced two significant events - an airdrop of 19 million OP tokens and a private sale round of an additional 116 million coins. These events became the primary reason for the decline in the cryptocurrency's price.
Immediately after the announcement, investors and traders began to speculate about how this could affect the market. Many are concerned that the increase in token issuance could lead to additional price pressure and further decline. However, it's worth noting that even with the issuance of additional tokens, the total supply of OP will remain limited, which may contribute to price recovery in the future.
Record Number of New Users: a Sign of Interest in the Project
It's also important to note that following the announcement of the airdrop and private token sale, the Optimism project attracted a record number of new users. According to data from the Santiment analytical platform, over 90,000 new wallets were registered on the network. This figure is a record event, comparable only to the mainnet launch in May 2022.
The growth in the number of users can be interpreted as a sign of interest in the Optimism project. However, it's important to understand that most of them likely joined the network specifically for the airdrop. If they do not actively use OP tokens, it may not necessarily impact their price.
Airdrop Participants Are "Holding" Tokens
An interesting fact is that participants in the Optimism airdrop preferred to hold the received tokens rather than sell them at current prices. This is confirmed by data from the IntoTheBlock platform, which shows a negative balance dynamics of OP on exchanges starting from September 18. In just 4 days, the number of tokens held on exchanges decreased by 5.2 million.
This may indicate that many participants in the airdrop and OP holders believe in the potential future price growth and have chosen to hold onto the tokens. They are not willing to sell them at current market prices, which could serve as a signal to other investors about the potential outlook for the OP cryptocurrency.