In simple terms
To vest means making a token allocation mature over time. Vesting is the rule, a cliff is an initial period in which nothing is released, and an unlock is when a portion becomes transferable or claimable under that rule.
From entitlement to balance
Allocated, vested, releasable, and released are not synonyms. A smart contract may hold the tokens and calculate the vested share; a release or claim function then transfers the available amount to the beneficiary. The schedule may be linear, stepped, or custom.
How to read a schedule
Identify the total allocation, beneficiary, start, cliff, duration, tranche frequency, token, and contract. Also verify who controls the wallet or contract, whether ownership is transferable, whether the plan can change, and whether tokens were actually deposited. A project chart alone does not prove on-chain execution.
What it does not prove
A published vesting plan does not guarantee that tokens cannot be sold, economically transferred, or released through another structure. It does not prove project quality or future price. For circulating supply, what matters is when and how assets become controllable and transferable, not merely the label “locked.”
Sources
- OpenZeppelin, Finance: VestingWallet — Documents beneficiary, start, duration, vested amount, releasable amount, release, and cliff.
- OpenZeppelin, Vesting Wallet — Separates custody, vesting curve, and release accounting for stepped or continuous schedules.
- Ethereum.org, Interacting with smart contracts — Explains how reads and state-changing transactions expose on-chain status and release.