YZY and Starknet token unlocks near $39m

YZY, the token linked to Kanye West’s Yeezy project, is scheduled to unlock 120 million tokens on August 16, an allocation valued at about $35.73 million in the project’s weekly unlock data. The release represents 22.8% of YZY’s circulating supply, placing it among the largest scheduled supply events in the August calendar.

The scale of the unlock sets YZY apart from other listed releases this month. The supplied monthly schedule estimates that $323.23 million in tokens is due to be unlocked across 141 cryptocurrency projects during August 2026, with YZY accounting for more than one-tenth of that total by value.

YZY’s listed website is money.yeezy.com, while its listed social account is Kanye West’s X account, @kanyewest. The project’s release schedule is displayed through a vesting-curve graphic rather than a conventional table showing individual dates, wallet allocations, and tranche sizes. That format makes the August 16 event the focal point for traders assessing when a substantial block of previously restricted tokens may become transferable.

A token unlock does not automatically result in market sales. Tokens can be retained, transferred between wallets, used for liquidity arrangements, or kept under further internal restrictions. Yet an unlock equal to nearly one-quarter of the circulating supply substantially changes the near-term supply picture, particularly for a token with concentrated ownership or limited market depth.

The supplied YZY materials state that roughly 70% of the total supply is held by Yeezy Investments LLC. If that ownership concentration is accurate, the behavior of a relatively small number of large holders could have an outsized effect on trading conditions after the unlock. Market participants will likely focus on on-chain wallet movements, spot-market liquidity and the difference between quoted prices and the prices available for sizeable sell orders.

YZY faces a large supply increase on August 16

YZY’s estimated $35.73 million unlock is more than 11 times the value of Starknet’s upcoming scheduled release, despite Starknet unlocking a slightly larger nominal number of tokens. The comparison illustrates how nominal token quantities alone offer little indication of a release’s potential market impact; the token’s price, circulating supply and liquidity are equally relevant.

The YZY vesting curve provided with the weekly data offers a broad visual representation of supply becoming available over time. It does not provide the detailed tabular breakdown that would show which wallets receive the August allocation or whether each recipient faces separate transfer conditions.

That leaves the immediate post-unlock effect uncertain. Large scheduled releases often attract short-term attention before the event, as traders anticipate the possibility that recipients could sell newly liquid tokens. The outcome depends on the actual allocation recipients, their selling decisions, available buy-side liquidity and broader market conditions on the day of the release.

A sharp supply increase can be difficult for markets to absorb when sell orders arrive quickly and order books are thin. Conversely, an unlock may have a muted effect when the allocation is already widely anticipated, holders do not sell, or buyers are prepared to absorb new supply. The scheduled date is therefore more useful as a risk marker than as a guaranteed price signal.

Starknet unlock is smaller in value but remains closely watched

Starknet is scheduled to unlock 130 million STRK tokens on August 15, with the allocation valued at about $3.19 million in the supplied weekly unlock data. Its vesting timetable is likewise presented as a curve image rather than a written tranche schedule.

The unlock arrives one day before YZY’s scheduled release, placing both tokens on the calendar during the same mid-August window. Starknet’s nominal release is larger at 130 million tokens, but its estimated dollar value is far lower than YZY’s because of the relative token prices used in the data.

Starknet is an Ethereum Layer 2 network built around zk-STARK technology, a form of cryptographic proof that allows transactions to be verified without every network participant reproducing all computational steps. The network is associated with StarkWare, the Israel-based company founded in 2018 that also developed StarkEx.

The supplied material says Starknet recently recorded a daily trading-volume ratio of 34.75%, ranking it highest among major Layer 2 projects under that measure. The figure indicates elevated trading activity relative to the metric used, though volume alone does not establish whether demand is strong enough to absorb a token release or whether activity is driven by short-term positioning.

STRK had also fallen below previously observed support levels during the first week of August, according to the supplied market commentary. In that setting, an unlock can become a focal point for traders looking for signs that token recipients are moving funds to venues where they could be sold.

Unlock schedules offer a supply calendar, not a price forecast

Vesting schedules are designed to release tokens gradually or at defined milestones, often for founders, contributors, ecosystem programs, early backers or other designated recipients. “Cliff” unlocks refer to moments when a significant allocation becomes available at once after a lockup period.

For YZY, the August 16 release is the clearest near-term event because its value and share of circulating supply are unusually large. For Starknet, the August 15 allocation is smaller in dollar terms but falls against a backdrop of active trading and recent price weakness described in the supplied data.

Neither event provides a certain direction for either token. They do give traders two concrete dates to monitor: August 15 for the 130 million STRK release and August 16 for the 120 million YZY release. Wallet activity, exchange deposits, available liquidity and the recipients’ disclosed plans, if any emerge, will determine whether those scheduled supply additions translate into material selling pressure.