Locks vs vesting vs burning — choose right.
Every serious token project eventually faces the same holder questions: Is the liquidity safe? When can the team dump? Is the supply honest? Three on-chain tools answer them — locks, vesting and burns — and they are not interchangeable. Here's when to use which.
The comparison
| Tool | What it does | Reversible? | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Token / LP lock | Holds tokens in a contract until a fixed date | Recoverable after unlock (extend-only before) | DEX liquidity, team allocations, treasury reserves |
| Vesting | Releases tokens gradually on a schedule (cliff + linear) | Follows the schedule, no early release | Team, advisor and investor distributions |
| Burning | Destroys tokens permanently at the dead address | Never — gone forever | Supply reduction, unsold allocations, commitments |
When a lock is the answer
Lock when the tokens should exist but must be provably untouchable for a period. The classic case is LP tokens: locking them makes a rug pull mathematically impossible until the unlock date. Locks also fit team allocations you intend to keep, and treasury funds you want to show are not for sale. On HoodLock, locks are created in under a minute, extend-only, and every lock gets a shareable proof page.
When vesting is the answer
Vesting is a lock with a schedule: nothing until a cliff, then gradual release. It's the standard for team and investor tokens because it aligns incentives over years, not months. On HoodLock, vesting is shipping next — until then, a practical pattern is a series of locks with staggered unlock dates (25% at 6 months, 25% at 9, and so on), each with its own public proof.
When burning is the answer
Burn when supply should shrink permanently: unsold presale tokens, a deflationary commitment, or proving a fair distribution. A burn is the strongest possible statement precisely because it's irreversible. HoodLock's burn registry records it on-chain and shows the share of total supply destroyed on a public proof page.
The common thread: proof
None of these tools build trust if holders can't verify them. That's why every HoodLock action — lock, extension, withdrawal, burn — is readable on-chain through a verified contract and presented as a proof link anyone can open. Explore every lock and burn on Robinhood Chain at hoodlock.tech/app/explore.
Lock tokens with on-chain proof
Flat 0.005 ETH fee · extend-only locks · no admin access to funds — verified on Robinhood Chain.
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