Vesting
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In Brief
Vesting is the scheduled release of tokens over time — instead of receiving their full allocation at launch, teams and early investors unlock tokens gradually, aligning their incentives with the project's long-term success.
What Is Vesting?
Vesting is the scheduled release of tokens over time. Instead of receiving their full allocation at launch, a project's team, advisors, and early investors unlock their tokens gradually according to a preset timetable. Until tokens vest, they can't be sold — which ties insiders' payoff to the project's longer-term success rather than a quick exit.
Vesting schedules are usually public, written into token documentation and often enforced by smart contracts, so anyone can check when locked supply becomes sellable.
How a Vesting Schedule Works
Allocation: insiders are granted tokens at launch, but the tokens are locked.
Cliff: commonly, nothing unlocks for an initial period; leave early, get nothing.
Gradual release: after the cliff, tokens unlock steadily — monthly, quarterly, or per block — until the allocation is fully vested.
Unlock events: on some schedules, large tranches unlock on specific dates rather than smoothly.
Why Vesting Matters to Holders
Supply pressure: each unlock makes previously locked tokens sellable; large unlocks can weigh on the price if insiders sell.
Incentive check: long vesting with a real cliff signals a team planning to stay; short or absent vesting is a red flag.
Read the schedule before buying: the circulating supply today may be a fraction of what's coming.
Unlocked doesn't mean sold — but it means it can be.
Vesting and Trust Wallet
Trust Wallet gives you self-custody of the tokens you hold, but it can't change a project's tokenomics — checking a token's vesting schedule and upcoming unlocks is part of doing your own research before you buy or swap. The Security Scanner helps with contract-level risk; supply-schedule risk is on the reading list.