Deciphr Academy
Track 3 · Tokens · Module 13

Tokenomics, vesting and unlocks

Supply, valuation, who owns what, and when tokens unlock.

Lessons
7
Reading
54 min
Quiz
15 questions
Pass mark
80%
  1. 1Supply words: circulating, total and maxWhat is the difference between circulating supply, total supply and max supply?7 min
  2. 2Market cap and fully diluted valuationWhat is the difference between market cap and fully diluted valuation (FDV)?7 min
  3. 3Allocation: who owns whatWhat is a token allocation, and how do you read one?8 min
  4. 4Vesting, cliffs and lock-upsHow does token vesting work, and how is it different from a lock-up?8 min
  5. 5Unlocks, emissions and burnsWhat is a token unlock, and how do emissions and burns change a token's supply?8 min
  6. 6Disclosures and red flagsWhat must a token's white paper disclose about supply, and what are the red flags?8 min
  7. 7The Brindlecove case: an unlock scheduleHow do you build a token unlock schedule?8 min

The case used in this module

Each module tells its own made-up Brindlecove story, so details can differ from one module to the next.

Key words

Tokenomics
How a token's supply and demand are designed: how many exist, how many more will be made, who holds them and when they unlock.1
Max supply
The most tokens that can ever exist, minus any burned. Some tokens, such as ether, have none.21
Total supply
The tokens that exist right now, including locked ones, minus any burned.31
Circulating supply
The tokens available in the market now. It leaves out locked, reserved and burned tokens.14
Market cap
A token's price times its circulating supply.45
Fully diluted valuation (FDV)
A token's price times its total or max supply, as if every token were already in circulation. Sites differ on which supply they use.675
Low float
Binance Research's term for tokens that launch with only a small part of their supply in circulation.8
Token allocation
How a project splits its supply between groups such as the team, investors, a treasury and the community.9
Vesting
Releasing tokens to their owner bit by bit, according to a schedule.10
Cliff
A date before which no tokens vest. In OpenZeppelin's code, the months before it vest all at once on that date.1011
Lock-up
A rule that stops holders selling for a set time. For company shares, most last 180 days.12
Unlock
The moment locked or vesting tokens become free to move, adding to circulating supply.913
Token generation event (TGE)
The moment a project first creates and issues its token. Arbitrum counted its first team and investor unlocks from it.1413
Emissions
New tokens created on a schedule, for example as staking rewards.1516
Burn
Removing tokens for good, usually by sending them to an address nobody controls.1517
Sources
  1. What Is Tokenomics? (what tokenomics means; supply is three numbers). CoinMarketCap Academy, updated 7 October 2026.
  2. Max Supply (glossary). CoinMarketCap Academy (read 22 October 2026).
  3. Total Supply (glossary). CoinMarketCap Academy (read 22 October 2026).
  4. Methodology. CoinGecko (the live page asked for a browser check; read via the Wayback Machine copy of 8 October 2026).
  5. What Is Tokenomics? (market cap and fully diluted value). CoinMarketCap Academy, figures pulled by CoinMarketCap on 7 October 2026, updated 7 October 2026.
  6. What Is Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) In Crypto?. CoinGecko Learn (read via the Wayback Machine copy of 13 July 2026), updated 9 June 2025.
  7. Fully Diluted Market Cap — How Emissions Kill Tokens in a Bear Market. CoinMarketCap Academy, 23 September 2022.
  8. Low Float & High FDV: How Did We Get Here?. Binance Research, May 2024.
  9. What Is Tokenomics? (allocation, vesting and treasury funds). CoinMarketCap Academy, updated 7 October 2026.
  10. Finance: VestingWallet and VestingWalletCliff. OpenZeppelin Contracts 5.x documentation (read 22 October 2026).
  11. VestingWalletCliff.sol (source code). OpenZeppelin Contracts on GitHub, master branch (read 22 October 2026).
  12. Initial Public Offerings: Lockup Agreements (glossary). Investor.gov, US Securities and Exchange Commission.
  13. $ARB airdrop eligibility and distribution specifications. Arbitrum DAO governance docs, Arbitrum Foundation (read 22 October 2026).
  14. What Is a Token Generation Event?. Chainlink Education (chain.link); Chainlink is a company with its own commercial interests (read 24 October 2026), last updated 6 April 2026.
  15. What Is Tokenomics? (emissions, burns and staking). CoinMarketCap Academy, figures pulled by CoinMarketCap on 7 October 2026, updated 7 October 2026.
  16. How The Merge impacted ETH supply. ethereum.org (read again 24 October 2026), page last updated 6 June 2026.
  17. How The Merge impacted ETH supply (the burn). ethereum.org (read again 24 October 2026), page last updated 6 June 2026.