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What is a token unlock, and why does it matter?

A plain-English guide, with real November 2026 examples.

Short answer

A token unlock is the day locked tokens, usually for a project's team, early investors or foundation, become free to move and sell. It adds supply, so people watch the size of the unlock compared with circulating supply, but plenty of unlocks pass quietly.

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How an unlock works

Most projects don't release every token at launch. Tokens for the team, early investors and the foundation are locked and released on a schedule. An unlock is the day a slice of those tokens becomes free to move and sell.

Two kinds: cliff and linear

  • Cliff unlock: a big chunk released all at once on one date. Monad's one-year cliff on Nov 24, 2026 is an example.
  • Linear unlock: a steady drip, daily, weekly or monthly. After its cliff, Monad's investor and treasury tokens unlock in equal monthly slices (1/48 a month over the following three years), per Monad's tokenomics post.

DefiLlama's tracker splits its numbers this way too. On Nov 1, 2026 it showed about $1.26B in upcoming unlocks over 30 days: roughly $722M of cliff unlocks and $535M of linear unlocks.

Why people watch them

An unlock adds supply. If the people receiving tokens bought in cheap, some may sell, and that can weigh on the price around the date. It doesn't always happen. Many unlocks pass quietly, especially small ones or ones the market already expected.

How to read one

  • Size vs circulating supply. A 3% unlock is a bigger deal than 0.3%. Our tables show the share of circulating supply.
  • Who gets the tokens. Team and investor tokens tend to get more attention than community or ecosystem tokens.
  • The dollar value moves. Token amounts are fixed on the schedule; the dollar value changes with price.
  • The exact hour. Trackers often disagree by hours, and sometimes a day. Check the project's docs for the rule it follows. Starknet's docs, for example, spell out 127M STRK on the 15th of each month through March 15, 2027.

What we do and don't do

We tell you what's scheduled and how big it is. We don't predict what the price will do. The moon phase next to each date is just there because we like it.

See real examples: token unlocks in November 2026 and the full unlock schedule.

Quick answers

What is a token unlock?

Tokens set aside for a project's team, early investors or foundation are usually locked and released on a schedule. An unlock is the day one of those slices becomes free to move and sell.

What is the difference between a cliff unlock and a linear unlock?

A cliff unlock releases a big amount on one date. A linear unlock releases tokens steadily, for example monthly. Many tokens have a cliff first and then linear unlocks.

Do token unlocks always push the price down?

No. An unlock adds supply and some holders may sell, but plenty of unlocks pass quietly. Size matters: 3% of circulating supply is a bigger deal than 0.5%.

Where can I check unlock dates?

DefiLlama's unlocks page and the project's own docs are the best places. Our token unlock pages list the date, amount, share of supply and source for each.

Sources

About Crypto Lunar

Crypto Lunar is a free weekly email and set of calendars for the dates that move crypto: token unlocks, airdrop deadlines, token launches, ETF rulings, Fed meetings and CPI. Every date comes with the real moon phase for that day, because we like it. The moon doesn't predict prices, and nothing here is financial advice. Questions or corrections: hello@cryptolunar.com or @CryptoLunarHQ.

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