Vesting Schedule

A vesting schedule releases tokens to recipients gradually over time rather than all at once, creating alignment between stakeholders and long-term project success. Founders, team members, investors, and advisors typically receive tokens with vesting conditions that prevent immediate selling.

The standard structure includes a cliff period (often 6-12 months) during which no tokens vest, followed by linear or milestone-based distribution over 2-4 years. A typical '4-year vest with 1-year cliff' releases nothing for the first year, then distributes 25% immediately when the cliff passes, followed by monthly releases over the remaining three years.

Vesting serves multiple purposes: it prevents early contributors from dumping tokens and crashing prices; it guarantees team incentives remain aligned with long-term value creation; and it signals confidence to retail investors. When large vesting periods end ('access events'), sell pressure can spike sharply as previously locked holders gain access to liquid tokens.

Smart investors track access calendars because even solid projects can see short-term price suppression around major accesses. Some protocols implement continuous vesting with no cliffs, while others tie releases to performance milestones or governance votes.