The biggest token unlocks of the next 12 months
Roughly $13.4B of vesting tokens are scheduled to unlock across 90 projects in the year ahead β but the dollar total is the wrong number to watch. Here is the one that actually predicts impact: share of circulating supply.
tokens release more than 10% of their entire circulating supply in a single cliff over the next year β more than most of them trade in a week. 184 clear 5%, 952 clear 1%.
Key findings
- 37 cliff unlocks exceed 10% of the token's circulating supply in the year from 2026-08-06; 184 exceed 5%. These are supply shocks, not routine emissions.
- The single biggest by share of float is MON β 100.4% of its circulating supply in one release on 24 Nov 2026.
- The dollar total (~$13.4B) is dominated by a few large caps β but by share of supply the list is completely different (see below). That gap is exactly why dollar-ranked unlock lists mislead.
- Of the impactful (5%+) unlocks, the largest source is "Private sale" (58 of them) β the allocations most likely to actually be sold.
Two different βbiggest unlocksβ lists
The same window, ranked two ways. By dollars you get the household names. By share of supply β the number that moves a price β you get tokens most people have never seen on an unlock list.
- GRAM$1.5B Β· 39.5% of float
- RAIN$482M Β· 5.5% of float
- RAIN$482M Β· 5.5% of float
- RAIN$482M Β· 5.5% of float
- RAIN$482M Β· 5.5% of float
- MON100.4% Β· $250M
- LMTS68% Β· $6M
- GRVT64.4% Β· $20M
- WET62% Β· $10M
- WET62% Β· $10M
The 12 biggest unlocks by share of supply
| Token | % of circulating supply | Value | Date | Going to |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MONMonad | 100.4% | $250M | 24 Nov 2026 | Team |
| LMTSLimitless Exchange | 68% | $6M | 22 Oct 2026 | Team |
| GRVTGrvt | 64.4% | $20M | 29 Nov 2026 | Uncategorized |
| WETHumidiFi | 62% | $10M | 3 Dec 2026 | Labs |
| WETHumidiFi | 62% | $10M | 3 Jun 2027 | Labs |
| GRVTGrvt | 58.2% | $18M | 29 Mar 2027 | Uncategorized |
| GRVTGrvt | 55.9% | $18M | 29 Aug 2026 | Uncategorized |
| GRVTGrvt | 53.6% | $17M | 29 Jul 2027 | Uncategorized |
| MONMonad | 45.1% | $112M | 24 Nov 2026 | Investors |
| RNBWRainbow | 41.8% | $1M | 5 Feb 2027 | Team |
| CAPcap | 40.4% | $20M | 25 Jun 2027 | Private Investors |
| GRAMTON | 39.5% | $1.5B | 22 Feb 2027 | Premine |
Cliff releases only, in the 12 months from 2026-08-06. Share of supply is against circulating supply at the snapshot; a low-float token can legitimately unlock more than 100% of what is circulating today. Figures are a dated snapshot, not live.
Why the dollar figure fools people
Every unlock tracker leads with dollar value, and every week it surfaces the same handful of large caps β because a big market cap mechanically produces a big dollar unlock. But a $200M release from a $20.0B token is a rounding error against its daily volume, while a $20M release from a $80M micro-float is a quarter of everything in circulation hitting the market at once. Only the second one is going to move. Share of float is the honest ranking, and it is why this list looks nothing like the dollar one above β the tokens that will actually feel their unlock are rarely the famous ones.
Methodology
- Data: a dated snapshot of published vesting schedules (from DefiLlama's emissions dataset), taken 2026-08-06, covering the following 12 months. It is a snapshot, not a live feed β dates and token amounts are fixed by the vesting contracts; dollar values are stamped at the snapshot price.
- Cliffs only: single scheduled releases, not the daily drip of linear vesting β an event, not a background condition.
- Share of supply is the release divided by the token's circulating supply at the snapshot. Tokenised equities and obvious data errors (impossibly large shares) are excluded so a bad row cannot top the list.
Cite or share this study
The figures refresh as new schedules are published. A link back keeps the citation live.
TheCryptoTools (2026). The Biggest Token Unlocks of the Next 12 Months. Retrieved from https://thecryptotools.com/research/token-unlocks/
The full, filterable list of every upcoming release is in the token unlock calendar, and the unlocks & vesting guide explains how to read one.
Frequently asked questions
οΌWhy rank token unlocks by share of supply instead of dollars?
Because dollars just re-sort by market cap. A $40M unlock against a multi-billion float is inside a normal trading day; the same amount against a small float can be more than the token trades in a week. Ranking by share of circulating supply is what actually predicts price impact β it is why the dollar-sorted "biggest unlocks" list is the same large caps every week.
οΌHow many tokens unlock more than 10% of their supply in the next year?
37, as of 2026-08-06 β each releasing, in a single cliff, more than a tenth of everything currently circulating. 184 release more than 5%, and 952 more than 1%. Those are the events worth watching.
οΌWhat is a cliff unlock vs linear vesting?
A cliff is one scheduled release on a single date β an event. Linear vesting is a small daily drip from a vesting curve β a background condition. This study counts cliffs, because summing the two would bury every dated event under the constant emissions of whatever token vests fastest.
οΌDoes a big unlock always crash the price?
No. Markets often price a scheduled unlock in advance, and not every unlocked token is sold. But a release larger than a token trades in a week is a real supply shock, and the ones going to team and early investors are the most likely to be sold. Treat share of float as the size of the risk, not a guarantee of a dump.