All terms
Releasing allocated tokens gradually over time instead of all at once.
Vesting spreads a team or investor allocation over months or years, usually through a contract that releases a portion on a schedule. It exists so the people who received tokens cheaply cannot sell everything on day one.
Vesting is only as good as the schedule and the enforcement. Tokens vesting from a contract anybody can inspect are a real commitment. A team promising to hold, with the tokens sitting in a wallet they control, is a statement of intent and nothing more.
The schedule matters as much as the total. Large simultaneous unlocks create predictable selling pressure on predictable dates.
A team allocation vesting monthly over three years through a public contract, with the release schedule visible to anyone.
That vesting aligns the team with you. It aligns them with a date. A schedule with a large monthly release and no performance condition creates a seller every month regardless of how the project is going.
Common questions
Does vesting protect me?
Where do I find the vesting schedule?
Where this comes up on the site
The guides that actually use this word, rather than a list of everything we have written.
Where to go next
More trading terms
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