Tokenomics (supply and incentives)

Tokenomics is how a token’s supply, unlock schedules, distribution, burns, and utility are designed. Unlock calendars often move price more than slogans about scarcity.

If insiders can sell a large unlocked pile on a known date, that is scheduled supply hitting the market — read it before you care about a chart candle.

Tokenomics answers four questions: How many tokens exist now? How many can ever exist? Who holds them? When can locked tokens be sold? A project’s documents usually lay out shares for founders, investors, the community, and a treasury, plus a vesting or unlock calendar for each.

Unlocks are where supply meets the market. Early holders often receive tokens that stay locked for months, then release in chunks. On an unlock date, a large group of holders can suddenly sell, adding supply even if demand has not changed. Burns work the other way: tokens are destroyed for good, but only if the rules really do it, and only by the amount they actually burn.

Real example: on the XRP Ledger, every transaction destroys a small amount of XRP as its fee, and no new XRP can be created. That is a supply rule you can read in the docs and check on the ledger. It tells you how supply behaves; it never promises a price. Sources: Transaction Cost, Tokens.