How to set up token vesting that holds.
Vesting turns a promise about team allocations into something the contract enforces. Instead of holding 20% of supply in a wallet and asking people to trust you won't sell it tomorrow, you hand it to a contract that releases it gradually, and give your community a link that proves it.
Before you create a schedule
Vesting on HoodLock is irrevocable. Once a schedule exists, it cannot be cancelled, paused or clawed back, and the tokens leave your wallet immediately. That's what makes it credible to holders, and it's also why the numbers need to be right the first time. Decide three things before you touch the form:
- Who receives it — the beneficiary address, checked character by character.
- How much — the exact token amount, not a percentage you'll convert in your head.
- Over what period, and after what cliff. See the benchmarks below.
Creating the schedule
- Open the vesting page and connect the wallet holding the tokens. Create a vesting schedule takes you straight there.
- Pick the token. The field lists the tokens your wallet actually holds, so you're selecting rather than pasting.
- Enter the beneficiary and amount. The beneficiary is the only address that can ever claim the tokens.
- Set the start, cliff and end. Presets cover the common shapes; you can also type exact dates. The minimum total duration is 24 hours.
- Approve and confirm. Two transactions: one to approve the token, one to create the schedule. The fee is a flat 0.005 ETH. No percentage of your tokens.
- Share the proof link. Every schedule gets a permanent page showing the amount, dates and claim progress, readable without a wallet.
Choosing a cliff and duration
A cliff is a period at the start during which nothing is claimable. On the cliff date, everything accrued up to that point becomes available at once, and release continues linearly from there. It exists so that someone who leaves in month two doesn't walk away with two months of tokens.
| Allocation | Typical cliff | Typical total |
|---|---|---|
| Core team | 12 months | 36–48 months |
| Advisors | 3–6 months | 12–24 months |
| Early investors | 6–12 months | 18–36 months |
| Small community allocations | none | 3–12 months |
These are conventions from established projects, not rules. The signal holders read is whether your team's schedule is at least as long as the promises you're making about the roadmap. More on how cliffs work.
What you can and can't change afterwards
- Can't cancel. There is no revoke function. The tokens are committed.
- Can't shorten or extend. The dates are fixed at creation.
- Can't reduce the amount. What you sent is what vests.
- Can move the beneficiary — the current beneficiary can transfer the position to another address, which is how a recipient changes wallets without breaking the schedule.
Vesting or a lock?
Use a lock when the whole amount should become available on one date. That's the standard shape for LP. Use vesting when the amount should be released gradually to a person. The full comparison is here.
Common questions
Can a vesting schedule be cancelled?
No. Schedules created on HoodLock are irrevocable. There is no revoke, pause or clawback function. That is deliberate: a schedule the creator could cancel would not prove anything to holders.
What happens if the beneficiary loses their wallet?
The tokens stay in the contract and remain claimable only by the beneficiary address. Because the position can be transferred by the current beneficiary, a wallet change has to be done while they still control the address.
Do I pay a percentage of the vested tokens?
No. The fee is a flat 0.005 ETH per schedule, paid at creation. The full token amount you commit is what gets released to the beneficiary.
What is the shortest vesting period allowed?
24 hours. The minimum exists to stop schedules that vest instantly, which would look like vesting to a casual reader while releasing everything immediately.
Keep reading
- How HoodLock vesting works
- Locking dev tokens after a Pons launch
- What is a vesting cliff?
- Team token allocation benchmarks
- Vesting alongside a Bankr launch
- Create a schedule in the app
Create a vesting schedule
Linear release, optional cliff, irrevocable once created, with a proof link your community can check.
Start vesting →