Token vesting schedule templates
Updated
Vesting decides when each group can sell. It is the first thing careful buyers look at after the contract itself: if the team can dump its tokens on day one, nothing else in the plan matters. This guide gives common schedules for each allocation, shows the monthly numbers, and explains how to set them up on Base so anyone can verify them.
How a schedule works
A schedule has three parts:
- Start: the date the clock starts. It can be today or a later date.
- Cliff: a period where nothing unlocks.
- Release: after the cliff, tokens unlock evenly, second by second, until the end.
With Kobolt, 1 month counts as 30 days. Nothing jumps free at the end of the cliff: the release simply begins there. Once created, a schedule can't be cancelled or changed, and only the beneficiary can claim. Claiming is manual: unlocked tokens wait in the vault until the beneficiary claims them.
Templates by allocation
| Allocation | Cliff | Release after the cliff | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team and founders | 12 months | 24–36 months | Shows the team is committed for years |
| Advisors | 6 months | 12–24 months | Shorter role, still no early selling |
| Early investors or private sale | 6–12 months | 12–24 months | They bought cheaper, so they wait longer than public buyers |
| Treasury | 0–6 months | 24–48 months | Funds operations step by step |
| Marketing | None | 12 months | Spent steadily on campaigns and listings |
| Community and ecosystem | None | 24–48 months | Rewards spread over the life of the project |
| Liquidity pool | No vesting | Locked instead | Goes into the pool and the position is locked |
| Public sale or auction | Usually none | Claimable at launch | Buyers expect to trade right away |
These are common ranges, not rules. Longer schedules build more trust; shorter ones need a good reason you can explain in public.
What the numbers look like
The monthly release is the amount divided by the release period:
| Allocation | Amount | Cliff | Release | Unlocks per month after the cliff | Fully unlocked after |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | 10,000,000 | 12 months | 36 months | about 277,778 | 48 months |
| Advisors | 2,000,000 | 6 months | 24 months | about 83,333 | 30 months |
| Treasury | 15,000,000 | 6 months | 30 months | 500,000 | 36 months |
| Marketing | 6,000,000 | None | 12 months | 500,000 | 12 months |
Add the monthly numbers together for each month of the first two years. That total is the most that can reach the market from vesting in any month, and it is a figure worth publishing. The free tokenomics planner draws that curve for your own allocations and can create every schedule for you.
A part at launch, the rest vested
Some projects release a share at launch, for example 10% of marketing. Kobolt schedules have no jump at the start, so do it in two steps: send the launch share to the wallet directly, and put the rest in a schedule. Publish both, so holders can see the full picture.
How to set it up on Base
- Open your token in the Kobolt builder and choose Vesting.
- Create the vesting vault for your token. You need one vault per token, and the Kobolt fee is paid once when you create it. See what it costs.
- Add a schedule: beneficiary, amount, start date, cliff and release period. To give many people the same terms, paste a list of
address,amountlines; up to 200 schedules go in one transaction. - Approve the tokens for the vault, then create the schedules. The tokens move into the vault right away.
- Share the vault address. Anyone can look up every schedule, and beneficiaries see and claim theirs from the same page.
More detail on the module itself is on Token vesting.
Common mistakes
- Using an exchange deposit address as beneficiary. Only the beneficiary can claim, and an exchange address can't.
- Giving a person a wallet they don't control or haven't backed up. If the wallet is lost, the tokens stay locked for it.
- Keeping team tokens in a normal wallet "until later". Vest them before you announce anything.
- Using one beneficiary wallet for several roles, so nobody can tell which tokens are which.
- Forgetting that claims are manual and then telling holders tokens were "released" when they were only claimable.
Checklist
- Allocation table final and published
- A separate, backed-up wallet for each beneficiary or role
- Cliff and release chosen for each allocation
- Launch shares, if any, decided and published
- Vault created and schedules added
- Vault address shared, with the monthly unlock totals
FAQ
What is a normal vesting schedule for a team?
A 12-month cliff followed by 24 to 36 months of linear release is the most common setup.
What is a cliff in token vesting?
A period at the start where nothing unlocks. After it, the release begins.
Can a vesting schedule be cancelled?
Not with Kobolt. Schedules can't be cancelled or changed, which is why holders can rely on them.
Are vested tokens sent automatically?
No. Unlocked tokens wait in the vault until the beneficiary claims them, as often as they like.
Can I change the beneficiary later?
No. The beneficiary is fixed when the schedule is created, so use a wallet that will stay in use, such as a multisig for a treasury.
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