Aptos down 4% as 4.5M APT token unlock nears

Aptos (APT) declined roughly 4% in the last 24 hours to $11.2452 at the time of writing, according to CryptoSlate data.

The value decline was majorly caused by the imminent unlock of 4.5 million APT tokens which analysts have predicted would increase the selling pressure on the asset. According to DeFillama data, the unlock is valued at around $50 million based on current prices.

The unlock would increase APT’s circulating supply by 0.5% to 186 million tokens, according to CryptoSlate data. The blockchain network had had three previous unlocks in tranches of 4.5 million each between the first three months of the year.

Aptos DeFi ecosystem thriving

Decentralized finance (DeFi) activity on the Aptos network has been thriving recently — rising by more than 50% in the last seven days and over 80% in the past month, according to DeFillama data.

During the period, the total value of assets locked (TVL) within the ecosystem rose above $50 million for the first time since February.

However, the TVL fell 0.11% in the last 24 hours to $55.27 million. The dominant protocol on the network is the decentralized exchange PancakeSwap which controls 40% of the TVL.

Aptos’ new proposal makes cheaper transactions

Aptos has released a new proposal AIP-17 which makes transacting on the network cheaper by significantly increasing gas efficiency.

According to the protocol, “users will see a 100x improvement in execution gas usage with 90% of transactions seeing at least a 10x improvement.”

“Aptos introduced gas-efficient data structures through smart vectors and smart tables, plus improvements to the storage footprint through how we handle Move resources.”

Several protocols within the ecosystem acknowledged the development, noting how users’ experiences have improved.

In an April 10 tweet, Aptos partnered with blockchain security firms like Otter Sec, Halborn Security, and Move Bit to perform “rigorous” network testing. According to the protocol, the testing led to crucial improvements across its type safety, Move VM, and the Aptos framework code.

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