Quick answer
Vesting is a schedule that controls when allocated tokens become transferable or claimable.
What is Vesting?
A vesting schedule releases tokens over time, often after a cliff or through periodic unlocks. It is commonly used for teams, investors, grants, and treasury allocations.
The useful way to approach this term is to separate its definition from the assumptions people often attach to it. In crypto, the same word can appear in a protocol rule, a user interface, a market-data label, or a marketing claim. Check which layer the explanation is describing.
Why does vesting matter?
Future unlocks can affect circulating supply, sell-side pressure, governance control, and investor expectations. The schedule should be compared with actual contract balances and wallet behavior where possible.
Concrete example
See it in a real situation
A contributor allocation has a one-year cliff followed by monthly releases over two years. The tokens may exist in a contract today but not be transferable by the contributor until each release.
Common misconceptions
What this term does not mean
- Vested does not always mean immediately liquid; a cliff or claim process may still apply.
- A vesting schedule cannot by itself prove that insiders will not sell.
Related terms
Sources and further reading
Definitions are written for education and checked against the sources below where relevant. A source can explain a protocol or rule without endorsing every product built around it.