Glossary
Token Unlock
A scheduled event where previously locked tokens — held by teams, investors, or the treasury — become transferable, adding new supply that can create sell pressure.
A token unlock is the moment a tranche of locked tokens becomes liquid and transferable. While vesting describes the whole release schedule, an unlock is the discrete event on that schedule — for example, a cliff unlock twelve months after launch, or a monthly linear unlock thereafter.
Unlocks matter because they expand circulating supply. If a large allocation unlocks for early investors sitting on big gains, the market often front-runs the event, selling in anticipation. Traders track upcoming unlocks through dashboards that show the date, size, and recipient of each tranche, treating a cliff worth a meaningful percentage of circulating supply as a key risk signal.