Unvested Token Supply

Overview

Meaning and scope

Unvested Token Supply is the amount of an allocated token supply for which beneficiaries have not yet earned an unconditional right under the applicable vesting schedule or agreement. Unvested tokens may already be minted or held in a contract, but they remain subject to time, service, milestone, governance, or other conditions.

How it works

Operationally, records should identify beneficiary class, allocation, vested-to-date amount, cliff, schedule, revocation, forfeiture, acceleration, contract balance, and differences between legal vesting and on-chain transfer locks. The principal risks are that misclassifying unvested tokens can distort dilution forecasts, ownership, accounting, governance power, and expectations around future selling pressure.

Operational checks and limits

Unvested supply covers grant quantities not yet earned under the agreed service, time or performance requirements. These units should not be counted as unrestricted recipient balances.

Practical example

A team allocation of 100,000 tokens has 40,000 vested and 60,000 still dependent on future service periods.

Distinctions

Unvested is about entitlement conditions; locked supply may include vested tokens that remain temporarily nontransferable.

How to evaluate it

Supply and release figures are meaningful only with a definition and a measurement point; for Unvested 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 Unvested 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; Token Vesting Cliff; Token Unlock Calendar.