The Sei price is under pressure as traders brace for a $12 million token unlock that could shake sentiment in the short term but also pave the way for a recovery.
Summary
- Sei price drops 20% weekly as $12 million token unlock approaches on October 15
- The rise of Yei Finance and Giga Upgrade provide bullish catalysts
- The price remains near USD 0.22, with key support at USD 0.20 and resistance at USD 0.27
As traders await the network’s upcoming token unlock event, Sei is currently trading at $0.2243, down 0.3% from the past day. The token is down 20% in the past week and 33% in the past month, reflecting growing caution towards mid-cap altcoins.
There appears to be less spot activity as 24-hour trading volume for Sei (SEI) fell to $177.86 million, down 13.3% from the day before. CoinGlass facts on derivatives indicates that open interest rose 1% to $130.08 million, while volume fell 11.8% to $307.06 million.
This combination suggests that traders are opening new positions, but at a slower pace, likely hedging or going short prior to unlocking rather than entering new long positions.
Sei token unlocks pressure supports
On October 15, 55.56 million SEI, worth approximately $12.54 million, will be unlocked according to Tokenomist facts. This represents approximately 1.15% of the circulating supply. Although the percentage is small, unlocking events often cause temporary price pressure, especially when market sentiment is already fragile.
Traders usually take less risk up front or short the asset in anticipation of increased supply, causing short sell-offs. If the new tokens are distributed to early investors or contributors, selling pressure may increase in the coming days before stabilizing.
Despite short-term headwinds, Sei’s ecosystem remains active. The launch of Yei Finance’s governance token, CLO, on October 14 added new narrative momentum. Yei Finance currently holds 47% of the network’s total value.
The upcoming Q4 upgrades, with isolated risk pools and improved oracle feeds, could further entrench Sei’s decentralized financial power, boosting protocol demand and network activity.
At the same time, Sei’s Giga Upgrade, expected later this year, continues to capture developers’ attention. The upgrade tests speeds of up to 200,000 transactions per second with sub-400ms finality, a potential game-changer for trading, gaming and RWA applications. Any early mainnet previews or successful test results could spark renewed bullish interest.
Sei price technical analysis
Sei’s graph paints a cautious picture. With the 50-day SMA near $0.2904 and the 10-day EMA at $0.2429 serving as overhead resistance, the token is currently trading below all major moving averages.
The relative strength index is close to 35, indicating that the asset is approaching oversold conditions but not yet in reversal range, while the momentum and MACD indicators are still in sell territory.
Bollinger Bands indicate decreasing volatility, suggesting that once the unlock occurs, there could be a decisive move that brings a relief or additional decline. The key support is around $0.20, a level that has been tested several times over the past week, while resistance is forming around $0.27.
A recovery towards $0.26-$0.28 could develop if Sei can catch the release without serious pullbacks. If not, the price could retest the $0.19 range before gaining stability due to extended weakness.
