The cryptocurrency market experienced a week of significant declines for several altcoins, driven by project-specific issues including massive token unlocks, concentrated whale holdings, and forced liquidations, against a backdrop of broader geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty.
Siren (SIREN) led the losses with a catastrophic 65.65% weekly drop, collapsing from an all-time high of $3.61 on March 22 to trade around $0.5885. On-chain analysis revealed a single whale cluster controls approximately 88.5% of the total supply, creating extreme price volatility. The project, positioned at the intersection of AI and meme culture, has yet to deliver most of its promised products.
Midnight (NIGHT), a privacy-focused Cardano partner network, fell 15.10% following its mainnet launch on March 31. The decline was triggered by community concerns over its one-way bridge, which allows easy movement from Cardano to Midnight but restricts the return flow, posing a perceived liquidity risk for ADA. Additional selling pressure comes from the ongoing 'Glacier Drop' airdrop, which will unlock tokens quarterly through December 2026.
Ethena (ENA) dropped 13.99% as it unlocked 171.87 million tokens (worth ~$14.7 million) for core contributors and early investors on April 5. The sell-off was exacerbated by on-chain activity hitting a six-month low, with insufficient organic demand to absorb the new supply.
LayerZero (ZRO) declined 9.97% in a contradictory week. While the project received a significant institutional boost with Worldpay and Global Payments launching a verifier network on its protocol, the price was weighed down by the bankrupt Alameda Research estate selling 7.93 million ZRO tokens (worth ~$15.3 million) to market maker Wintermute.
Aptos (APT) saw a 9.04% decrease, largely mirroring the broader market's downward trend. Investor attention is now focused on its next scheduled token unlock on April 12, which will release 11.3 million APT tokens worth approximately $9.5 million.
The broader market context remains challenging, with Bitcoin and Ethereum slipping roughly 2% amid geopolitical tensions around Iran and persistent uncertainty over interest rates. Furthermore, a significant wave of token unlocks is scheduled for the coming week affecting 16 altcoins, including AXS, STABLE, NAME, LINEA, and another tranche for APT, which could introduce further selling pressure across the sector.
