Vesting Schedule Complete: The Full Guide for Solana Creators
When a vesting schedule is complete, 100% of a project's tokens become liquid and tradeable. This is a critical milestone that often impacts token price, liquidity, and community trust. Understanding what happens next—from holder rewards to perpetual fees—is essential for long-term success.
Key Points
- 1A complete vesting schedule means all allocated tokens are fully unlocked and liquid.
- 2This event can trigger significant price volatility as large holders may sell.
- 3On Spawned, projects that graduate maintain 1% perpetual fees via Token-2022.
- 4Post-vesting, the 0.30% holder reward mechanism continues for all trades.
- 5Creators should communicate this milestone clearly to maintain community confidence.
What 'Vesting Schedule Complete' Actually Means
The lock is off. Here's what happens when every token becomes liquid.
The term 'vesting schedule complete' signals that the predefined period for locking up a project's tokens has concluded. All tokens allocated to the team, advisors, treasury, or community incentives are now fully unlocked and can be sold or transferred without restriction.
This is not just a technical event—it's a major psychological and economic checkpoint. For investors, it means the risk of a large, sudden sell-off from early backers increases. For creators, it marks the transition from a launch-phase project to one that must stand on its ongoing utility and community support. Projects built on Spawned have a structural advantage post-vesting: the 0.30% holder reward fee continues indefinitely, providing an ongoing incentive for holders to stay invested even after tokens unlock.
Vesting Complete vs. Launch & Graduation
It's easy to confuse a vesting schedule ending with other project milestones. Here’s how they differ on the Solana launchpad journey.
At Launch (Day 1):
- A portion of tokens (often 10-20%) are immediately liquid for the initial DEX pool.
- The remaining 80-90% are locked in a vesting contract.
- On Spawned, creator revenue is 0.30% per trade from day one.
At Vesting Schedule Complete:
- 100% of the total token supply is unlocked and liquid.
- Early backers and team members can now access their full allocations.
- The 0.30% holder reward fee continues for all token holders.
After Graduation on Spawned:
- The project moves off the launchpad but remains on Solana.
- A 1% perpetual fee on all trades is enabled via Token-2022 program.
- The AI website builder remains active at no extra cost ($29-99/month value).
The key insight: Vesting completion is about token liquidity, while graduation is about platform independence and fee structure.
The 5-Step Impact on Token Price
When the vesting schedule finishes, token economics shift dramatically. Follow this predictable sequence to understand the potential price impact.
- Anticipation Phase (Weeks Before): Speculators may buy in anticipation of the event, or sell to avoid potential downside. Price often becomes volatile.
- Immediate Unlock (Day Of): Large token holders—like team and early investors—now have the ability to sell their entire allocation. Not all will, but the threat exists.
- Sell Pressure Assessment (First 72 Hours): The market watches for large wallet movements. If major holders signal they are holding (e.g., through social media), price may stabilize or rise.
- Liquidity Normalization (Week 1): Trading volume typically increases as more tokens enter circulating supply. This can lead to wider price swings.
- New Baseline Establishment (Month 1): After the initial volatility, the price finds a new level based on the project's fundamentals, community strength, and ongoing utility—like the 0.30% holder rewards on Spawned.
Projects with strong communities and clear communication often weather this period better. The built-in holder reward on Spawned creates a tangible reason for holders to stay through the unlock.
Creator Checklist: What to Do When Vesting Ends
As a project creator, your actions around the vesting completion date can build trust or trigger panic. Use this checklist.
Communication (Do This First):
- Announce the vesting completion date at least 2 weeks in advance.
- Be transparent about the percentage of supply unlocking and who holds it (team, advisors, treasury).
- Publish a clear statement of intent from major holders (e.g., 'Our team tokens will remain locked for an additional 6 months').
Technical & Financial Prep:
- Verify all vesting contracts have executed correctly on-chain.
- Ensure your project's liquidity pools can handle potential increased volume.
- Review the ongoing 0.30% holder reward distribution to confirm it's functioning.
Post-Vesting Strategy:
- Highlight the project's next development milestones to shift focus from the unlock to future utility.
- For Spawned graduates, emphasize the shift to 1% perpetual fees as a new phase of sustainable revenue.
- Use the included AI website builder to update your site with new roadmap details, reinforcing long-term vision.
Proactive management turns a risky event into a demonstration of project maturity.
Why Spawned's Model Wins After Vesting
Other launchpads abandon you at the finish line. Spawned builds a highway for what comes next.
Most launchpads stop caring about your token once it's live. Spawned is built for the long haul, especially after the vesting schedule finishes.
Consider a standard Solana meme coin launched elsewhere. When vesting ends, early holders have one incentive: sell. The creator earns nothing on those sales, and remaining holders get no benefit.
Now, look at a token launched on Spawned. From day one, 0.30% of every trade goes back to holders as a reward. When vesting completes and trading volume potentially spikes, that reward mechanism is still active. A holder deciding whether to sell might think, 'If I hold, I keep earning a share of all this new volume.'
Furthermore, if the project graduates from Spawned, it activates a 1% perpetual fee on all trades via Solana's Token-2022 program. This creates a sustainable revenue stream for the creator far beyond the launch. While others face a cliff, Spawned projects have a bridge to the next phase.
The included AI website builder (a $29-99/month value saved) helps creators maintain their online presence without cost, keeping the community engaged long after the initial hype and vesting periods fade.
Build a Token That Lasts Beyond the Vesting Period
If you're planning a Solana token launch, the vesting completion date should be part of your design, not an afterthought. Spawned provides the economic infrastructure—0.30% holder rewards, 0.30% creator fees, and post-graduation perpetual fees—to align incentives for the long term.
Launching costs just 0.1 SOL (approx. $20), and you immediately save on website costs with the integrated AI builder. Don't just create a token; create a sustainable project with built-in rewards that hold your community together when the locks come off.
Related Terms
Frequently Asked Questions
Not necessarily, but it often increases volatility. The completion allows large holders to sell, which can create downward pressure. However, if the project has strong fundamentals, active development, and mechanisms like Spawned's 0.30% holder rewards, many holders may choose to stay. Clear communication from the team about their holding plans is critical to mitigate panic selling.
The fee structure remains active. The creator continues to earn 0.30% on every trade. If the project graduates from the launchpad, this shifts to a 1% perpetual fee collected via Solana's Token-2022 program. The vesting schedule ending does not affect these revenue streams; they are based on trade volume, not token lock status.
Vesting schedules vary widely. A common structure for team/advisor tokens is a 6 to 12-month period, sometimes with an initial 'cliff' (e.g., no tokens for 3 months, then linear release). Community and treasury allocations might have different schedules. Always check a project's official documentation for its specific vesting timeline before investing.
Yes, absolutely. To build trust, teams often announce they will voluntarily lock their tokens for an additional period, even after the contractual vesting ends. This is usually done by transferring tokens to a new, publicly verifiable locking contract. Such actions can positively influence market sentiment around the unlock event.
Before vesting completes, these numbers are different. 'Fully Diluted Valuation' (FDV) calculates market cap as if all tokens (locked + unlocked) existed. 'Circulating Supply' only counts tokens that are actually tradeable. When the vesting schedule is 100% complete, the circulating supply equals the fully diluted supply, making FDV and market cap the same number.
Yes, it's a key tool for communication. As the vesting end approaches, you can use the builder to quickly create and publish announcements, updated tokenomics pages, and revised roadmaps. Keeping your community informed through your official site helps manage expectations and reduce uncertainty, which can stabilize token price during the unlock period.
Monitor three things: 1) **Team Communication:** Are they transparent about the unlock details and their own holding plans? 2) **On-chain Data:** Use Solana explorers to watch for large token movements from team wallets. 3) **Project Activity:** Is development continuing? A strong post-vesting roadmap is a positive sign. Projects with built-in holder rewards, like those on Spawned, offer an extra incentive for holders to stay.
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