How long should you lock liquidity?
There's no protocol rule about lock duration, which is exactly why the number you choose says something. A lock is a statement about how long you intend to be around, written where nobody can edit it.
How this works on Robinhood Chain. It depends on which kind of pool you are in. A v2-style LP position is itself an ERC-20 token, so HoodLock's token locker holds it exactly like any other balance. A Uniswap v3 or v4 position is an NFT, so it goes in HoodLock's Liquidity Locker instead, which holds it until your date while you keep collecting its trading fees. Most liquidity on this chain sits in v3 and v4, and many launchpads here already lock or burn the launch position at graduation, so check what happened to yours first.
Benchmarks that hold up
| Stage | Common lock | How it reads |
|---|---|---|
| Launch / first week | 6–12 months | Baseline. Below six months invites questions. |
| Established, few months in | 12–24 months | Signals the project outlived its launch. |
| Mature project | 24 months+, extended repeatedly | The strongest signal available. |
| Under 30 days | — | Reads as a countdown to an exit. |
Why extending beats starting long
A 24-month lock set on launch day costs nothing — the team may not exist in three months. A lock that started at six months and has been extended twice tells a different story: someone came back and committed again, after the launch hype was over. On HoodLock unlock dates are extend-only, so every extension is permanent and visible, and the history accumulates into something a new lock can't imitate.
The practical strategy: lock for a defensible period at launch, then extend as you ship. You get the credibility of a long lock without betting on a future you can't see yet.
What buyers actually check
Duration is only one of the numbers people look at. When someone checks whether your liquidity is locked, they're reading four things together:
- How much of the LP supply is locked, not just that a lock exists.
- Until when, and how that compares to your roadmap.
- Whether anyone can unlock it early — a property of the locker contract, not your promise.
- Whether the lock is still active or already withdrawn.
A twelve-month lock covering 15% of LP is weaker than a six-month lock covering 95%. Lock the majority or expect to be asked why you didn't.
When the lock expires
Nothing happens automatically. The tokens simply become withdrawable by the lock owner, who has to send a transaction to claim them. There's no deadline and no way for anyone else to take them. Plan the conversation before the date arrives: an expiring lock that nobody mentions is read as an exit, while an extension announced a week early is read as a commitment.
Locking LP versus locking team tokens
These are different commitments and shouldn't share a date. LP locks protect against liquidity being pulled. Team allocations are better handled with a vesting schedule, which releases gradually instead of all at once — a single unlock date on a large team allocation creates a supply cliff nobody benefits from.
Common questions
What is the minimum time liquidity should be locked?
Six months is the practical floor for a launch. Shorter locks tend to be read as a countdown rather than a commitment, and they leave little room to build credibility before the unlock date arrives.
Can I extend a lock after creating it?
Yes. On HoodLock unlock times are extend-only. They can be pushed further out at any time but never shortened. Extending an existing lock is generally a stronger signal than setting a long one on day one.
What happens when a liquidity lock expires?
Nothing automatic. The tokens become withdrawable by the lock owner, who must send a transaction to claim them. There is no deadline to do so and no way for anyone else to take them.
Should team tokens use the same lock duration as liquidity?
Usually not. Liquidity suits a single unlock date, while team allocations are better served by a vesting schedule that releases gradually, since one large unlock date creates an avoidable supply shock.
Keep reading
- Locking LP tokens, step by step
- Locking dev tokens after a Pons launch
- What happens when a token lock expires
- Token launch checklist
- Locking LP tokens from a Hood Launcher Classic launch
- Extend a lock
Lock liquidity with on-chain proof
Uniswap V3 and V4 positions go in the LP locker for Robinhood Chain: no upfront fee, you keep earning trading fees, and the unlock date can only move later. V2 LP tokens use the token locker for a flat 0.005 ETH.
Lock your liquidity →