There is also a sophisticated trading element to the value increase. Historically, in the cases of the IMX and APE tokens late last year, token unlocks caused a period of downside price action. This prompted traders to short the tokens before the event, but based on the recent flurry of short liquidations on AXS, it appears this trade has become overcrowded, leaving it vulnerable to the other side due to a lack of liquidity.
Source: https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/01/24/bullish-token-unlocks-buck-bear-market-trend-in-spur-to-altcoin-season/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines