Unlock is Not Just Unlocking: Why Investors Should Track Cryptocurrency Token Releases

Periodically, events occur in the crypto market that can drastically change asset prices. One such phenomenon is an unlock — the unblocking of crypto tokens that were frozen according to the project’s economic model. Between late 2024 and early 2025, the market faced an asset unlock totaling approximately $15 billion, highlighting why unlocks are processes that require constant attention from traders and investors.

At first glance, locking tokens before a project’s listing on exchanges may seem like a strange practice. However, this system did not appear by chance. Starting in 2017, when a wave of projects emerged during the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) era, the market faced the need to create standardized rules to protect all participants. In the absence of internal norms, the cryptocurrency industry borrowed tools from traditional financial markets, adapting them to blockchain’s specifics.

The main tool became tokenomics — the economic model of a project that defines rules for issuing and distributing tokens among developers, early investors, and users. Unlike traditional stock markets, where share distribution depends on a company’s financial performance, in the crypto world, time became a key parameter. That’s why almost every serious project includes a vesting mechanism in its tokenomics — a period during which tokens remain locked.

For example, projects like Sui, Aptos, Optimism, Arbitrum, Celestia, and Worldcoin actively use such locking mechanisms. The crypto fund Pantera Capital, having purchased Toncoin at a 40% discount from the market price, faced a one-year restriction on withdrawing these assets, with gradual unlocking over several years. This approach helps create demand for tokens before early participants start selling them en masse.

Two ways unlocks are conducted in crypto projects

Project teams choose the token unlock schedule based on their goals and capabilities. There are two main types of unlocks, often combined within one tokenomics.

Linear unlocking involves a gradual, even release of tokens into the market. This can happen daily, weekly, monthly, or according to another schedule. This approach reduces the risk of a sharp price drop caused by a sudden influx of a large volume of assets.

Cliff unlocking is the opposite approach — tokens are unlocked in a large batch at once after a certain period. A cliff is a lock-up period after the token’s listing on an exchange. In reality, most projects use a hybrid approach, assigning different schedules to different categories of holders. For example, developers might have a cliff unlock, while investors follow a linear schedule.

How to track unlocks and why it’s important

A token unlock event can exert significant pressure on the market price, as a sudden influx of large asset volumes often increases supply and causes a price drop. Since blockchain is an open ledger with a complete transaction history accessible at any time, it’s possible to track the status of vesting tokens online.

Investors and traders can monitor unlock events in two ways. The first is manual analysis of the blockchain for those with the necessary expertise. The second is using specialized platforms like Token Unlock and Cryptorank. These services not only show unlock schedules but also help understand which participant categories the upcoming assets are intended for.

Such tools display the total dollar value of upcoming unlocks, their percentage of the project’s circulating supply, and even estimate potential price impacts. Blockchain transparency is a key advantage, enabling any market participant to make informed decisions based on factual data about upcoming market events.