A free distribution of tokens to users who meet eligibility criteria, typically past users of a protocol, holders of a specific asset, or users reaching a points threshold. Airdrops serve as a user acquisition and distribution mechanism, converting existing users or community members into token holders with immediate governance rights.

Assumption and precision is Tokenomist's dual-axis framework for grading data confidence. Every unlock data point carries an assumption type (how the data was sourced) and a precision level (how accurately the timing is known), giving users transparent confidence grades for every metric.

Beneficiary categories are Tokenomist's six standardized groups for classifying every token allocation: Founder/Team, Private Investors, Public Investors, Reserved, Community, and Other. This normalization enables apples-to-apples comparison of allocation structures across different projects.

Circulating supply is the number of tokens available for open market trading — tokens that have been transferred out of stakeholder wallets. Tokenomist distinguishes this from released supply (unlocked but possibly still held by insiders), giving a more accurate picture of what is actually tradeable.

A cliff unlock concentrates sell-side pressure into a single event, making it the highest-impact date on any token's unlock calendar. In Tokenomist's emission methodology, a cliff is any discrete token release occurring at intervals exceeding one day — weekly, monthly, or quarterly — as opposed to daily linear emissions.

Emission is the net change in released supply over a period, representing the rate of supply dilution or contraction. The formula is Emission = Inflation - Deflation, capturing both new supply entering the market and supply permanently removed.

Fully diluted valuation (FDV) is the theoretical total market value of a cryptocurrency assuming all possible tokens are in circulation — revealing the full dilution burden that future unlocks impose on today's holders. For tokens with a defined max supply, FDV = Current Price x Max Supply. For unlimited-supply tokens, Tokenomist uses Year-2035 projected supply to provide a bounded estimate.

Linear vesting produces predictable daily dilution that the market can absorb incrementally, making it the lower-impact component of any token's emission profile. In Tokenomist's methodology, linear emission is defined as the continuous, daily release of a specific number of tokens — as opposed to cliff events that occur at wider intervals.

A tokenomics mechanism where protocols distribute newly minted tokens to users who provide liquidity to decentralized exchanges or lending protocols. Miners earn protocol tokens proportional to their liquidity contribution, incentivizing capital deployment and reducing the cost of bootstrapping trading volume.

Locked supply is the number of tokens that have been restricted to prevent trading in the public market. These tokens have specified lock durations and release mechanics — either cliff-based or linear — that determine exactly when they become available.

Low float refers to tokens with small circulating supplies relative to their fully diluted value (FDV). Tokenomist's "Released %" metric in the Token Unlocks table shows exactly what fraction of total supply is currently in circulation, making it straightforward to identify tokens where this mismatch creates price volatility risk as locked tokens unlock.

Market cap (circulating supply × price) measures a token's current tradeable value, while FDV (max supply × price) represents its theoretical value if all tokens were in circulation. The gap between them quantifies the dilution still ahead — a token trading at $1B market cap with $10B FDV has 90% of its supply yet to enter the market.

An on-chain claim is the transaction where a beneficiary withdraws unlocked tokens from a vesting contract to their wallet. Until claimed, unlocked tokens remain in the contract — the delay between unlock and claim reveals whether holders intend to sell, hold, or deploy their tokens elsewhere.

Protocol revenue is the fee income generated by a blockchain protocol—such as transaction fees, swap fees, or lending interest. Real yield occurs when this revenue is distributed to token holders, offsetting token inflation.

Released supply is the total amount of tokens that are unlocked and claimable, including those still held in stakeholder wallets. Released supply is always greater than or equal to circulating supply because it counts tokens that insiders have earned but not yet sold.

A staking lockup is a period during which tokens are locked to participate in network validation or earn staking rewards. Locked tokens are removed from circulating supply and cannot be traded, reducing effective float and creating slashing risk for validators.

The downward price force created when a large quantity of previously illiquid tokens (vested, locked, or escrowed) enter circulation and are available for sale. Supply pressure occurs when new token supply outpaces demand, forcing prices down as sellers flood the market.

TBD locked supply consists of tokens locked without a determined release date, often held in a treasury or reserve pending a future event such as a governance vote or operational milestone. These tokens represent the most unpredictable source of future dilution.

Token allocation is the division of a protocol's total supply among six standardized categories defined by Tokenomist: Founder/Team, Private Investors, Public Investors, Reserved, Community, and Other. The allocation ratios and vesting schedules attached to each category determine unlock risk, dilution trajectory, and who controls future supply.

Token burns permanently remove tokens from circulating supply, directly reducing dilution pressure on remaining holders. Tokenomist classifies every burn event along two dimensions — Type (Programmatic vs Non-Programmatic) and Reason (Governance, Protocol Design, or Project Decision) — enabling apples-to-apples comparison across projects.

Token buybacks are how protocols use revenue to offset sell pressure, converting earnings back into demand for the native token. Tokenomist classifies every buyback event along three dimensions — Type (Buyback & Burn vs Treasury Buyback), Source (Revenue, Treasury, Protocol Fees, or External Funding), and Precision (On-chain Exact, Reported, or Estimated) — so you can distinguish verified, sustainable programs from marketing announcements.

Token dilution reduces each existing holder's proportional share of a protocol's value when new tokens enter circulation via unlocks, emissions, or airdrops. The severity depends on the rate of new supply relative to demand growth — a 10% annual emission with 5% demand growth means holders face roughly 5% real dilution.

A token emission schedule defines the net change in released supply over a period — calculated as Inflation minus Deflation. This net figure determines actual dilution pressure, not gross token creation alone. Tokenomist tracks historical emissions from TGE to today (including both inflation and deflation) while future projections model only known cliff and linear unlock schedules, explicitly excluding burns because they are unpredictable.

Token float is the ratio of circulating (freely tradeable) supply to total or max supply. A low float means a small portion of tokens is available for trading, making the price more sensitive to large buy or sell orders — and more vulnerable to sharp moves when locked tokens unlock.

A Token Generation Event (TGE) is the moment when a protocol's governance or utility token is created, publicly distributed, and begins trading. TGE marks the official start of the token's lifecycle, including cliff timers for vesting allocations and the beginning of supply mechanics (staking, mining, emission schedules).

Token inflation is the net increase in circulating supply over time, calculated on Tokenomist as Emission = Inflation - Deflation. Inflation sources include staking rewards, liquidity mining incentives, and scheduled vesting unlocks; deflation sources include burns and buybacks. The net emission rate determines the real supply pressure token holders face.

A chronological tracker of upcoming token supply releases, showing when vested, locked, or escrowed tokens become liquid and available for trading. Unlock calendars identify high-impact dates when supply pressure may accelerate or decline, enabling investors to anticipate price volatility and plan position management.

Token vesting is a time-based release mechanism that gradually unlocks tokens held by team members, investors, and other stakeholders over a predetermined schedule. Rather than receiving all tokens at once, vesting prevents rapid token dumping and aligns long-term incentives.

Treasury vesting is the controlled release of tokens held by a protocol treasury over time, typically through governance-approved programs. Tokenomist classifies tokens allocated to treasuries but without determined release dates as TBD Locked — either Event-Gated (triggered by governance votes or milestones) or Operational (deployed at the team's discretion) — capturing the uncertainty inherent in treasury releases.

A vesting schedule is the predefined timeline that governs when allocated tokens become available to their beneficiaries. It typically combines cliff periods (where no tokens release) with linear or stepped release phases, and each stakeholder group — team, investors, ecosystem — usually has its own distinct schedule.

A tokenomics model where token holders lock their assets for a fixed period to receive voting power (veTokens) that grant governance rights and fee-sharing rewards. The longer the lock-up period, the more voting power an address receives, aligning incentives between governance participation and long-term token holding.