Unlocked Token Supply

Overview

Meaning and scope

Unlocked Token Supply is the portion of token supply no longer subject to contractual, smart-contract, vesting, staking, governance, or administrative lockups that prevent transfer or use. Unlocked does not necessarily mean circulating: tokens can be transferable yet remain in treasury, inactive, lost, or concentrated addresses.

How it works

Operationally, supply analysis should define the lock types included, identify release contracts and beneficiaries, reconcile on-chain balances with disclosed schedules, and separate unlocked, circulating, vested, treasury, and exchange-held amounts. The principal risks are that projects can overstate liquidity by labeling tokens unlocked even when they are economically unavailable, restricted by policy, or controlled by insiders.

Operational checks and limits

Unlocked supply is the portion no longer subject to defined lock conditions, though balance ownership and availability still matter. State whether the metric covers all holders or a specific grant.

Practical example

A treasury releases a previously restricted allocation, increasing unlocked supply without minting any additional token units.

Distinctions

Unlocking changes restrictions; vesting records entitlement, and circulating supply may use additional market or custody criteria.

How to evaluate it

Supply and release figures are meaningful only with a definition and a measurement point; for Unlocked Token Supply, distinguish what has been minted, what may ever be created, what can be transferred now, and what remains subject to vesting or contractual restrictions. When evaluating Unlocked Token Supply, compare reported numbers at the same block or reporting date; otherwise an apparent discrepancy may be a difference in timing or measurement basis rather than an accounting error. Related concepts: Vested Token Supply; Unvested Token Supply; Token Unlock Calendar.