Pyth braces for $333m token unlock

The Pyth Network price remained under pressure on Sunday as the countdown to a big token unlock continued.

Pyth Network (PYTH), an oracle protocol that connects market data owners to applications on multiple blockchains, was trading at $0.150, its lowest level since May 9 and 72% below its highest point in November last year.

The main catalyst for the Pyth price will be a giant token unlock scheduled on May 20. According to CMC, the network will unlock tokens worth $333 million, or 58% of the float. These 5.66 billion tokens will be allocated to private sales, publisher rewards, ecosystem growth, and protocol development. 

Pyth Network has a maximum supply of 10 billion, and 36% are in circulation. After this unlock, the final two will happen in May 2026 and May 2027.

A token unlock is often seen as a negative catalyst for an asset because it introduces new coins into the market. If an asset does not have substantial investor demand, this can depress the price. 

Pyth Network is the third-biggest oracle provider in the crypto industry, with a total value secured of $8.38 billion. Only Chainlink (LINK) and Chronicle, which have $43 billion and $8.40 billion, are bigger. 

Pyth provides numerous services, such as price feeds, random numbers for smart contracts, and tools to eliminate miner extractable value (MEV). It is used by top players in decentralized finance, such as Kamino Lend, Ethereal, Suilend, and NAVI Lending.

Pyth Network price analysis

The daily chart shows that the PYTH price peaked at $0.5540 in November last year and then plunged to $0.1557. It has dropped below the key support level at $0.1697, the highest swing in March and the lowest point in February. 

PYTH token remains below the key point at $0.2210, the lowest level in August last year. It has also moved below the 50-day and 100-day Exponential Moving Averages, while the Relative Strength Index and other oscillators have pointed downwards.

The outlook for the PYTH price is bearish. The next point to watch is $0.1042, its lowest level on April 7. A move above the resistance level at $0.2090 will invalidate the bearish outlook.