Orca Crypto
Trading term

Unlock

The moment previously locked tokens become sellable.

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Updated 2026-08-303 min readDefinition
Definition

The moment previously locked tokens become sellable.

An unlock is a scheduled increase in circulating supply. Team, investor or treasury tokens that were locked become transferable, and some portion of them typically reaches the market.

Unlocks are public information, which means they are usually priced in ahead of time rather than on the day. That does not make them harmless. Large unlocks into thin liquidity move price regardless of how well telegraphed they were.

Before buying anything with a locked allocation, find the unlock schedule and know what is coming and when. It is the most predictable supply event in crypto and the one people most often ignore.

In practice

A treasury lock expiring on a known date, with the holder announcing in advance what proportion will be burned rather than sold.

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