A crypto token vesting schedule sets when allocated tokens become eligible for release. A cliff delays the first scheduled release; linear vesting spreads releases over time. An unlock can make tokens available to recipients, but it does not by itself mean they are circulating, transferable, sold, or about to push the price down.
What a token vesting schedule tells you
A vesting schedule is a timetable, and sometimes a set of conditions, for releasing tokens assigned to a group. Projects may publish separate schedules for contributors, investors, a community, a treasury, or a public sale. Each allocation needs to be read on its own terms.
Keep three supply concepts distinct:
- New issuance: newly created tokens increase total supply.
- Previously issued, locked tokens: release can increase the amount recipients can access and may affect the amount a data provider classifies as circulating, without increasing total supply at that moment.
- Circulating supply: a classification used in token data; providers may use different definitions. A schedule alone does not establish how a particular provider will count released tokens.
“Unlock” can mean a scheduled change in restriction status or a release event. Whether a recipient must claim tokens, whether they can transfer them, and when they are treated as circulating depends on the project’s terms, contracts, custody arrangements, and the provider’s classification.
How TGE unlocks, cliffs, and linear vesting work
TGE unlock
The token generation event (TGE) is one possible point at which a schedule releases tokens. Some allocations specify an amount available at launch; others specify no TGE release. There is no single TGE percentage that can be assumed for every project.
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Cliff
A cliff is a period before the first scheduled release. Once it ends, the terms may release an amount at once or begin a continuing vesting schedule. Check whether the cliff applies to the whole allocation or only a portion; those are different terms.
Linear vesting
Linear vesting distributes releases at a steady rate over a stated duration, although the actual cadence depends on the project and its implementation. Nibiru’s documentation says its linear vesting is continuous and automatic through smart contracts, with small amounts unlocking each block; that describes NIBI, not a universal standard (Nibiru vesting documentation).
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Examples: NIBI and $OPEN schedules
These project disclosures illustrate why allocation percentages and schedule percentages must not be mixed. The figures below are specific to the named projects, not typical industry terms.
| Project and allocation | Share of total supply | Published release terms |
|---|---|---|
| NIBI seed investors | 8.5% | 0% at TGE; a cliff for 25% of the allocation, followed by linear vesting of the remaining 75% over 36 months. |
| NIBI public sale | 8.0% | 10% unlock at launch; the remaining 90% vests linearly over 12 months. |
| NIBI core contributors/team | 15.3% | Schedule details are listed in the project documentation; consult the allocation row for its terms. |
| NIBI post-seed investors | 8.2% | Schedule details are listed in the project documentation; consult the allocation row for its terms. |
| $OPEN investors | 18.29% | 12-month cliff followed by linear unlocking over 36 months. |
| $OPEN team | 15.00% | No allocation unlocked at TGE, followed by a 12-month cliff and linear unlocking over the next 36 months. |
Nibiru lists a fully diluted supply of 1.5 billion NIBI and identifies November 12, 2024 as the last update in its documentation’s update history; the page was accessed in 2026. Its figures should be checked against the project’s current disclosure before relying on them (Nibiru tokenomics and vesting). OpenLedger Foundation publishes the $OPEN allocations and schedules shown above; these are Foundation-disclosed terms, not evidence of a broader pattern (OpenLedger Foundation token allocation).
How to evaluate a schedule without confusing release with selling
- Identify each recipient group. Keep team, investor, ecosystem, treasury, public-sale, and liquidity allocations separate wherever the project does.
- Write down the denominator. Mark whether each percentage is a share of that allocation, total supply, or current circulating supply. A release of 25% of an investor allocation is not 25% of total supply.
- Map the timing and conditions. Record any TGE release, cliff, post-cliff pattern, duration, and milestone conditions. Do not turn “monthly after TGE” into a calendar date unless the project specifies the date convention.
- Check the evidence behind the schedule. A published schedule and an on-chain contract that enforces releases are different evidence. Look for the contract or other verifiable implementation as well as the project’s written terms.
- Check date precision. Tokenomist distinguishes month, week, day, hour, block, second, and undetermined timing. Month-level dates can mean any time in that month, and some dates are estimates when the underlying detail is incomplete (Tokenomist methodology).
- Follow the stages after a scheduled release. Establish separately whether tokens are claimable, transferable, counted as circulating by a particular provider, moved to an exchange, or actually sold. A calendar does not establish those later events.
- Compare like with like. Use the same supply denominator and consider initial unlocked share, release size relative to current float, recipient concentration, cliff versus gradual releases, duration, and evidence quality. A longer schedule alone does not establish that one allocation is safer.
Tokenomist describes its token pages as combining allocations, release schedules, emissions, and tokenomics references (Tokenomist features). Such tools can help locate and compare schedules, but their displayed assumptions and precision labels matter. Follow dates back to project disclosures or contract evidence before treating them as definitive.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What an unlock may mean for price
A release can increase the tokens available to recipients. Its market effect depends on factors the schedule alone does not answer: the release’s size relative to the relevant supply measure, whether recipients can transfer or sell, how concentrated the allocation is, market liquidity, demand, and what recipients choose to do.
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Accordingly, an unlock is not proof that recipients will sell, and a calendar date does not predict a price decline. The project schedule can describe timing; it cannot, by itself, establish recipient behavior or a market outcome. The material available here does not establish a reliable cross-project statistic for typical TGE unlock percentages or price effects.
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