- Celestia (TIA) trades around $1.81, marking a 13% decline over the past week.
- The altcoin is erasing gains made after a rebound from a June low of $1.32.
- The Celestia Foundation announced it purchased all remaining TIA held by Polychain Capital.
Celestia’s price at $1.81 has fallen into double-digit losses over the last week. Although it has recovered about 38% from its June low of $1.32, the token is still down roughly 70% year‑over‑year and about 91% from its all‑time high above $20.9 reached in February 2024.
With the broader crypto market navigating another pullback, is TIA vulnerable to further losses — or could the Celestia Foundation’s recent actions spark a renewed rally?
Celestia Foundation buys back TIA from Polychain Capital
As TIA’s price slid during the past year, many analysts pointed to aggressive selling by Polychain Capital as a major pressure point. Celestia went from being one of the most discussed tokens around its mainnet launch to lagging behind the wider market. That underperformance over the past year has pushed it far from its peak.
Some commentators described Polychain’s behavior as among the “most predatory VC token activities out there.”
In response, the Celestia Foundation has taken steps to change the narrative, announcing it purchased Polychain Capital’s remaining TIA holdings. This move ends a multi‑year relationship with a venture firm that originally acquired tokens at or below $1.
Polychain agreed to sell its remaining 43,451,616.09 TIA to the Celestia Foundation for $62.5 million. The firm will undelegate its staked assets to facilitate the transaction.
The Celestia Foundation has worked with Polychain Capital to assign Polychain’s entire remaining TIA holdings to new investors.
This month, the Foundation purchased 43,451,616.09 TIA from Polychain Capital for $62.5m. Polychain will shortly be undelegating their entire staked…
— Celestia 🦣 (@celestia) July 24, 2025
By reacquiring this supply, the Foundation aims to remove a key source of sell pressure that many believe contributed to TIA’s long slump.
Why is TIA largely bearish?
Despite the Foundation’s buyback, TIA’s price trajectory remains predominantly downward. One reason is ongoing token unlock schedules that continue to release distributed tokens into circulation over time. These controlled releases are intended to avoid sudden supply shocks, but they still steadily increase circulating supply.
The concern is whether new token holders will adopt selling strategies similar to Polychain’s earlier actions. If fresh holders sell aggressively, bearish pressure could persist or even intensify.
Crypto analyst zeroknowledge recently commented on the token’s design, saying:
“The structural selling pressure is not a side effect — it is literally the primary feature of the tokenomics design.”
The analyst highlighted that Polychain invested about $20 million across Series A and B rounds and, through a staking‑reward loophole, had already sold over $82 million worth of TIA — realizing roughly a 4x return — before a single primary tranche of their tokens unlocked.
Is that dynamic shifting? Market participants point out that Celestia has been restructuring tokenomics and governance mechanisms in an effort to change long‑term incentives.
1/ @Celestia restructures token supply & governance model
$62.5M $TIA reallocation from @Polychain and a proposal to slash inflation from 5% to 0.25% signal major changes to long-term incentives. This comes as $TIA trades 67% below 2024 highs. pic.twitter.com/oi9GJtPsEl
— Chaos Labs (@chaos_labs) July 24, 2025
As noted by Chaos Labs, the Foundation’s plan goes beyond reallocating Polychain’s holdings: there is also a proposal to sharply reduce inflation. The question remains whether such changes will meaningfully curb selling pressure and support a sustained recovery.
Celestia price — technical outlook
At the time of writing, the token trades near $1.81, with open interest around $197 million. Daily technical indicators currently favor sellers: the Relative Strength Index (RSI) is sliding toward the 50 line and the MACD displays a bearish crossover, both signs that momentum remains weak.
In the near term, key factors to watch include how the Foundation manages the newly acquired supply, whether tokenomics changes (like inflation cuts) are approved and implemented, and whether unlock schedules lead to renewed selling. A sustained reduction in inflation and disciplined allocation of the purchased tokens could help restore confidence, but until price action shows clear bullish reversal signals, downside risk remains significant.