Price Resilience Amidst Ongoing Token Unlocks

While the broader cryptocurrency market faces downward pressure, Starknet’s native STRK token is experiencing a significant surge, climbing over 20% in recent trading. This rally comes even as the Ethereum Layer 2 network approaches another scheduled token unlock for investors and team members in the coming weeks.

The token’s recent performance marks a notable shift from its trajectory following its Token Generation Event (TGE) in February 2024. After launching at approximately $2, STRK struggled to maintain momentum. However, the asset has shown renewed strength over the past month, rising 40% despite a steady increase in its circulating supply.

Since April, 127 million STRK tokens have been released into circulation each month. Despite this consistent supply pressure, the token has demonstrated resilience, navigating the unlocks while maintaining positive price action.

Surging On-Chain Activity and Network Value

This price strength is supported by growing on-chain metrics. Starknet recently announced a new staking milestone, with 900 million STRK now staked on the network. This accounts for roughly 20% of the circulating supply and represents a value of over $150 million.

Starknet’s Total Value Locked (TVL)—a measure of the assets secured within its ecosystem—is also rebounding sharply. According to data from L2Beat, Starknet is the sixth-largest Layer 2 network, and its TVL has increased by 200% since reaching a low in July.

A significant portion of this growth is driven by the Extended protocol, a decentralized exchange (DEX) for perpetual futures, which now accounts for over 40% of Starknet’s entire TVL. Extended’s own TVL nearly doubled in October alone, growing from $55 million to $96 million, a trend potentially accelerated by the recent popularity of airdrop farming on similar platforms.