Layer 1 blockchain Story Protocol has delayed the scheduled unfreezing of its $IP token by six months, opting to maintain a bigger share of provide locked for longer as debate intensifies over how crypto tasks handle token releases.
In an announcement, Story stated the choice is a part of a broader set of long-term measures geared toward strengthening alignment with its neighborhood and reinforcing the community’s financial foundations, describing the delay as a method to introduce new liquidity extra regularly alongside decrease emissions and wider participation.
“Once we launched Story, our mission was to construct foundational infrastructure for programmable mental property,” Story stated in an announcement. “Whereas that mission stays unchanged, our understanding of the place the strongest traction is forming, and what long-term success requires has continued to evolve.”
The $IP token is buying and selling round $1.45 to $1.50 proper now. That is down about 32% over the previous 30 days, worse than the CoinDesk 20 Index’s 22% drop, highlighting the robust market situations Story talked about.
Below the revised schedule, the primary main launch of beforehand locked crew, investor, and early contributor tokens will shift from February 2026 to August 2026.
Story says the change does not contact the full 1 billion token provide, particular person allocations or authorized possession, and solely alters the timing at which locked tokens could enter circulation. The muse added that an automatic smart-contract mechanism has been launched to implement the up to date lockup phrases, whereas emphasizing that it doesn’t acquire custody of wallets or the power to maneuver tokens.
Token unlocks are intently watched occasions in crypto markets as a result of sudden will increase in circulating provide can weigh on costs, and up to date analysis has steered that enormous releases typically result in delayed promoting strain fairly than fast rebounds.
Analysts often level to so-called low-float, high-fully-diluted-valuation launches, the place a small portion of tokens commerce freely whereas most stay locked, as a supply of volatility and investor mistrust when vesting durations expire.
On-chain metrics compiled by DeFiLlama present Story has had practically non-existent exercise thus far, with lower than $100 in each day on-chain income, underscoring how a lot of the token’s $500 million valuation stays tied to future expectations fairly than current money stream.
Late final yr, Story’s co-founder Jason Zhao introduced he was stepping again from day-to-day operations to hitch a brand new AI enterprise.
