From Token Unlocks to Updates — Top Crypto Events This Week

From crackdowns to updates – top crypto events this week

The U.S. will share data on GDP and unemployment claims, Denver will host a conference dedicated to Ethereum, Nvidia will present its earnings report, and Solana is expecting a major token unlock – Coinpaper editorial staff has collected the main events of this week February 24 – March 2 in one material.

Token unlocks – all week long

The beginning of the week pleases investors with a new batch of major unlocks, which the community is always waiting for with great interest.

The most notable one will be the unlock of more than 240 million AltLayer (ALT) tokens. The full list of the unlocks of the week can be found here.

Nvidia Earnings – February 26th

The tech giant will report its fiscal fourth quarter (Q4) earnings this Wednesday. It will be released after the market closes, making it an important event for investors.

As the world’s largest chip maker by market capitalization, Nvidia is an indicator of the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. Therefore, the company’s results have a direct impact on the well-being of the AI coin segment.

U.S. GDP data – Feb. 27

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data for the fourth economic quarter of this year will be released this Thursday, at 4:30pm Moscow time. This information will directly affect the health of the country’s main currency – US dollar. If the real figures turn out to be higher than expected, the market will see a rise in the dollar, otherwise – a decline.

This month’s figures are expected to be down slightly from January, from 3.1% to 2.3%. If the actual data matches the forecast or is even better than expected, the markets may see a rise in US Dollar.

GDP (Gross Domestic Product) is the market value of all goods/services produced in a country for consumption; it is also the total income of citizens, companies and the government for a certain period. This indicator is used to assess how well a state’s economy is doing: if GDP is growing – the country is developing.

ETHDenver Conference – February 27th

The main event of the ETHDenver conference will begin on Thursday, February 27, in Denver, Colorado. Judging by the discussions on social media, it is already becoming an important event for the Ethereum ecosystem.

It is the largest and longest running event dedicated to Ethereum, attracting thousands of developers, entrepreneurs and blockchain enthusiasts. In 2024, more than 15,000 attendees from 115 countries attended the event. It is expected that projects on Ethereum may release major updates using the event as a launchpad.

U.S. jobless claims in the U.S. – February 20

This Thursday, a report on the number of applications left by US citizens for unemployment benefits will be released. This data is collected and processed by the US Department of Labor on a weekly basis and is therefore quite volatile.

According to forecasts, 220 thousand applications were submitted during the reporting week, compared to 219 thousand a week earlier. Meanwhile, according to MarketWatch, the growth will be even higher and reach 225 thousand applications for the reporting week.

Thursday’s increase in initial jobless claims points to growing economic woes and a weakening labor market, which could lead to a slowdown in consumer spending. This slowdown has prompted the Federal Reserve to consider cutting rates to stimulate the economy.

A strong labor market could ease fears of aggressive rate hikes, giving bitcoin room to rise, especially if it maintains its status as digital gold.

Solana’s $1.9 billion unlocking – March 1

The key event of the week is the $1.9 billion Solana (SOL) unlocking scheduled for this Saturday. About 11.2 million SOL tokens will be released into circulation, which is about 2.2% of Solana’s current circulating supply (about 488 million SOLs).

This event is related to the FTX bankruptcy proceedings. These are the tokens that the bankrupt exchange sold at discounted prices of $64 to $102 to big players such as Galaxy Digital and Pantera Capital as part of the liquidation process.

In case of a mass release of unlocked tokens to the market, Solana may face strong price pressure. In such a case, a price pullback is not excluded. However, if coin holders decide to walk, the cryptocurrency may not experience any effect from the upcoming unlocking.

Conclusion

This week we are expecting several important events at once: token unlocks and important macroeconomic data from America. All of them can affect the mood of the crypto market.