The tokenomics blog.
Niche pieces for founders, advisors, and economists. Each draws on the 300+ real public protocols we’ve encoded and the math that powers our analysis tools. No surface-level explainers — assume you know what TGE, FDV, and vesting mean.
Allocations
06 May 2026
8 min read
How much should team get? A blue-chip allocation benchmark.
Blue-chip median team allocation is 22%. Where you should land vs that depends on four questions.
The team allocation distribution across blue-chip launches, broken down by category, raise size, and product runway — plus where well-known protocols sit, with 300+ more to browse.
Allocations
06 May 2026
9 min read
PEPE vs DOGE vs WIF — three template memecoin launches compared
Three templates, three different outcomes. Which one fits your launch?
Three of the most successful memecoins in history used three completely different launch templates. Compare PEPE, Dogecoin, and dogwifhat across supply, distribution, and cap-table design — plus the one template most new memecoins should copy.
Allocations
06 May 2026
7 min read
How much should insiders get? The 50% line and what it means.
Median insider total is 50%. The 65% line triggers public criticism. Where to land and why.
Across blue-chip launches, the team + investor + foundation rollup lands near 50%. Going above the 90th-percentile of ~64% triggers public criticism. Where to land and why.
Vesting
03 Jul 2026
7 min read
Vesting Smart Contracts: 7 Patterns Audits Flag
A vesting contract that owner can drain isn't a vesting contract.
Seven antipatterns smart-contract auditors consistently flag in vesting contracts: revoke functions, mutable beneficiaries, schedule rewrites, reentrancy, fee-on-transfer assumptions. With fixes.
Vesting
26 Jun 2026
8 min read
The Insider Re-Lock: When Protocols Pay Vested Holders to Lock Again
The official supply unlocks. The effective float doesn't.
Vote-escrow, staking, and restaking re-lock patterns: how they work, when they actually reduce float, and how to tell honest re-lock from a trick. Curve, Pendle, Frax, EigenLayer compared.
Vesting
19 Jun 2026
7 min read
Backloaded vs Frontloaded Linear Vests: The 4-Year Schedule That's Actually 2
A 4-year linear vest is effectively a 2-year vest. The math is uncomfortable.
Two vesting designs both unlock 100% over 48 months — but the cumulative curves differ by years. The math behind backloaded vs frontloaded, and when to choose each.
Vesting
12 Jun 2026
8 min read
Vesting Acceleration Clauses: The Fine Print That Lets Insiders Out Early
The 48-month vest in the deck is often a 24-month vest in the contract.
Single-trigger, double-trigger, KPI, and listing-based vesting acceleration clauses. Why founders include them, why public buyers should know, and how to spot them in a TPA.
Vesting
05 Jun 2026
7 min read
The 10% TGE Cliff: Why "A Little Bit Now" Is the Worst Vesting Pattern
The vesting design that reads as moderate in a deck and dumps as worst-of-both in practice.
A TGE unlock plus linear vest looks moderate but creates more cumulative dilution than either pure cliff or pure linear. The math, the failure modes, and three alternatives.
Governance
29 May 2026
9 min read
Vote-Escrow After Curve: A Decade of veToken Models, Compared
Five years on, every third governance token claims a "ve" mechanic. Most of them don’t.
How veCRV created the bribe meta, what Pendle and Aerodrome got right, why most ve copycats fail, and three filters for whether vote-escrow belongs in your design.
Distribution
22 May 2026
8 min read
TGE Float Strategy: How Much Supply Should Circulate at Launch?
The single tokenomics number that decides whether your launch is called "low-float pump" or "dump-on-launch".
TGE circulating float across 13 real launches, ranging from 5% (Ethena) to 70% (Pudgy Penguins). The three tiers, why the middle is empty, and how to choose.
Distribution
15 May 2026
8 min read
The HHI of Tokenomics: Measuring Concentration Risk
How a 50-year-old antitrust metric became one of the better tokenomics tools.
The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index applied to tokenomics. Formula, DOJ thresholds, computed scores for 13 real protocols, and why it beats top-3 concentration.
Math
08 May 2026
8 min read
Calculating Token Sell Pressure: The Math Founders Skip
The math every founder claims to know but few have actually computed.
The actual formulas behind token unlock sell pressure. Cliff + linear math, worked example with Arbitrum’s March 2024 cliff, sell-through ratios, and how to find your worst month.
Vesting
01 May 2026
9 min read
The 12-Month Cliff: Origin, Math, and When It’s Wrong
A geeky deep dive into the most-copied vesting parameter in crypto.
Where the 12-month cliff came from, the math it solves, a survey of vesting cliffs across 13 real public tokenomics, and four scenarios where the standard is wrong.
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