UNI fully unlocked, but only 25% in circulation as whales hold back

• Despite UNI’s full unlock, over 700 million tokens remain held by key stakeholders like a16z.
• Net outflows signal UNI accumulation, but market volatility looms as large holders await better conditions.

Uniswap [UNI] has reached a significant milestone, with 100% of its supply now fully unlocked.

Despite this, only 25.83% of the total 1 billion UNI tokens (around 258.3 million) are currently circulating in the market, according to @EmberCN analysis. 

This is largely due to the majority of the supply being held by the community treasury, team members, investors, and advisors, who have yet to release a significant portion of their holdings.

Distribution and current circulation

Of the total UNI supply, 17% was distributed early on through liquidity provider (LP) staking rewards and airdrops to early users. These tokens have already entered the market and are part of the circulating supply. 

In fact, the remaining 83% was allocated to the community treasury and key stakeholders, including the team, investors, and advisors.

To date, the community treasury has unlocked its entire 430 million UNI allocation, but only around 30 million UNI has entered the market.

Likewise, the 400 million UNI allocated to the team, investors, and advisors has been fully unlocked, yet only about 58.16 million UNI has been sold. 

This cautious approach by major stakeholders, including investors like a16z, has contributed to a stable market price by preventing a sudden influx of tokens into circulation.

Holders show long-term confidence

Despite the full unlock of UNI tokens, there has been no significant sell-off from key stakeholders.

The decision to hold onto a large portion of the supply—over 700 million UNI tokens—indicates a strong hold mentality among major investors.

This has helped prevent a sharp increase in circulating supply, potentially stabilizing the market.

This holding behavior may reflect long-term confidence in the future of Uniswap, as stakeholders such as a16z appear to be waiting for favorable conditions before releasing more of their tokens into the market. 

This limited circulation could impact future market trends, especially if large stakeholders choose to sell more UNI tokens.

UNI outflows signal accumulation surge

In recent weeks, the UNI market has seen both inflows and outflows, per IntoTheBlock data. On the 16th of September, there were net outflows of 62,350 UNI, indicating that more tokens were being withdrawn from exchanges.

This may signal that holders are preparing to stake or hold their UNI for the long term, rather than selling in the short term.

Source: IntoTheBlock

Over the last seven days, net inflows have increased by 19.38%, suggesting some accumulation by large holders.

However, over the past 30 and 90 days, there has been a trend of net outflows, pointing to a possible reduction in large-holder activity over time. 

Source: IntoTheBlock

Despite this, UNI’s price has remained relatively stable, with a 2.55% increase in the past 24 hours and a 1.09% rise over the past week, suggesting that the market is absorbing these changes well.

Read Uniswap’s [UNI] Price Prediction 2024–2025

As of press time, UNI was valued at $6.63 with a 24-hour trading volume of $138 million and a circulating supply of 750 million UNI. This gives Uniswap a market capitalization of nearly $5 billion. 

While recent netflows show signs of potential accumulation, future market volatility could arise if large stakeholders decide to sell more of their holdings.