Low float and high fully diluted valuation (FDV) coins have been a hot topic in crypto this year. Yet, understanding these coins' unrealized gains is critical for truly grasping their pricing.

In this episode, Jose Macedo of Delphi Digital and Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital dive deep into metrics that help assess a coin’s true value. They discuss why upcoming token unlocks may put downward pressure on the market, how token unlocks could be better structured for long-term success, and whether VCs are extracting more value than they contribute.

Show highlights:

• Why upcoming token unlock events are creating anxiety in the crypto market
• The role unrealized gains play in token price volatility
• How certain projects manipulate circulating supply metrics to influence perceptions
• Tips for everyday investors to uncover accurate token information
• The impact of secondary market trading on anticipated token unlock events
• Why short-term token strategies often prevail over those focused on sustained success
• Jose’s insights into why simple, time-based unlock models may outperform complex systems
• Ari’s thoughts on the SEC’s investigations into VCs and their parallels to pump-and-dump schemes
• Why many crypto projects face a bearish outlook due to pending token unlocks
• How the intersection of memecoins and VC involvement could shape the next market cycle

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

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Guests:

• Jose Macedo, founder at Delphi Labs
• Ari Paul, CIO of BlockTower Capital
• Previous appearances on Unchained:
• Ari Paul on Why Bitcoin Is a Good Value Buy
• Ari Paul of BlockTower Capital on the Crypto Downturn and Why It Could Change Direction

Links

High FDV and unlocks:

• Unchained:
• How ‘Fully Diluted Valuation’ Can Be a Very Dangerous Metric for Crypto Markets to Rely On
• Who’s to Blame for the Underperformance of Low Float, High FDV Tokens?
• 80% of Tokens on Binance Are Down Since Listing Date: SwissBorg Researcher
• Cobie newsletter: New launches (part 1) - private capture, phantom pricing
• Rocknblock: Token vesting explainer
• CoinDesk: 'Liquid Vesting' Is Oxymoronic Blockchain Feature That Lets Early Investors Sell Without Waiting
• Jose’s thread that inspired the episode
• Ari’s post responding to Jose’s thread
• Token.unlocks.app: Token vesting tracker

Solutions:

• Hack VC: Potential Solutions to Crypto's Unlock Problem
• Colony Lab: Early-Stage Program & Liquid Vesting
• Imran Khan’s tweet on Blast https://x.com/lmrankhan/status/1806040646433522149 

Timestamps:

• 00:00 Intro
• 02:46 Token unlocks creating market concerns
• 11:06 Unrealized gains to market cap ratio impact
• 13:06 Token supply manipulation tactics
• 21:11 How investors can verify token projects
• 24:21 Secondary market trading and unlock impacts
• 35:36 Current token launch strategy persistence
• 41:46 Short-term vs long-term project decisions
• 47:21 Time-based vs metric-based token unlocks
• 53:51 SEC investigations into VC practices
• 59:56 Bearish outlook for upcoming token unlocks
• 1:06:36 Investor risks in current cycle
• 1:13:11 Future of VCs in crypto and memecoins

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