Evolution of Token Release Strategies: Q1 2024 vs. Q1 2025

The cryptocurrency market might be maturing, but it’s far from settled. How tokenomics are evolving is a good symbol of this inevitable march toward a new order.

And because this new order is still taking shape, it allows us to discern several key trends simply by looking at new project release schedules.

What are these trends? What kinds of release strategies are new projects adopting? What implications do they have for market liquidity, long-term sustainability, and investor strategies? Let’s dig in.

Higher Initial Unlocks in 2024, Gradual Emissions in 2025

The difference that stands out the most when comparing tokens launched in Q1 2024 with those from Q1 2025 is the initial unlock structure. When looking at early 2024 tokens, you see a much higher first-year emissions number relative to the 2025 tokens. When you look at the 2024 tokens, most of them release more than half of their total supply in the first year. That certainly seems to reflect an aggressive market entry.

For example, XAI shines with a remarkable 69.77% of its overall supply made available to the market in the first year post-launch. Other tokens, such as ONDO and ETHFI, also feature significant first-year unlock percentages, with 57.53% and 56.79%, respectively, but none come close to the XAI percentage. This rapid emission strategy — and it is a strategy — is almost certainly aimed at driving early liquidity and adoption and incentivizing potential users to take a look at the offering post-launch. The strategy may very well be a direct response to competitive pressures.

In contrast, in an aggressive unlocking strategy, tokens are made available in such large volumes that it creates a risk of volatility. Such was the case with MATIC during its first year of availability. Having just launched at a price of $0.0025 in May 2019, MATIC shot up in value to $0.10 in June and then, even more significantly, to $0.26 by September 2019. However, in the latter half of its first year, MATIC was in the unfortunate position of being strongly correlated with a downtrending overall crypto market, which in turn was impacting many individual projects.

By contrast, the tokens introduced in the first quarter of 2025 are taking a considerably more cautious approach. Many of these tokens are following slower, more controlled emission schedules that stress long-term sustainability over immediate liquidity. Their first-year unlocks tend to be much lower, reflecting a contrasted choice for the tokens—or their creators, at least—in favor of longer vesting periods before full access. Consider BIO and ANIME: their first-year emissions are only 15.60% and 25.49%, respectively, a big step down from the kind of levels we were seeing in last year’s batch of tokens.

Despite this overall trend toward slower emissions, certain 2025 tokens, such as BERA (56.89%), seem to have more aggressive unlock schedules. Nevertheless, this appears to be more the exception than the rule.

Shift Toward Controlled Emissions in 2025 Tokens

An emerging trend from the comparison is a noticeable shift in token release strategies between 2024 and 2025. The former emphasized immediate liquidity and high first-year unlocks. The latter, however, seems to favor a more gradual and sustainable emission strategy. This shift is likely a response to the challenges faced by early-stage projects with aggressive unlock schedules.

Tokens released in Q1 2025 appear to be adopting a much more balanced approach to emissions that extends beyond the first year. For instance, a number of projects, such as LAYER and KAITO, distribute their emissions evenly across several years, which provides a much smoother and far more predictable release schedule. This layout should, in theory, help avoid the kind of sell pressure that can occur when a token appears to be unlocking in huge amounts all at once. And while some projects that started in 2025 also seem to be adopting a staggered release strategy, several others, like BIO, IP, and KAITO, appear to be distributing their emissions evenly across a number of years and well into Year 5.

Emissions decline sharply in most token models following Year 1. For instance, JUP released 36.73% of its supply in the first year, but then that dropped all the way down to 0%. ETHFI was slightly better in that respect. After the first year, it released a not-so-breath-taking 7.53% in the third year, after having released 56.79% in the first year. So far, in the first couple of years of existence, these tokens have been creating a fair amount of price pressure in the market. They’ve even been leading to a certain amount of price instability. The reason is that if you’re a JUP or an ETHFI holder, what incentive do you have to hold it when you know that almost all of the supply is eventually going to be released, and the price is way more unstable than it might otherwise be?

How are token release strategies evolving?

By comparing Q1 2024 vs. Q1 2025 tokens, we can uncover key trends in emissions and their market impact.

Key Findings:
– Higher First-Year Unlocks for 2024 tokens
– More Gradual Emission Trends for 2025 tokens
– Sharp Declines in… pic.twitter.com/6tNM0FJ0Y9

— Tokenomist (prev. TokenUnlocks) (@Tokenomist_ai) March 5, 2025

Looking Ahead: A More Sustainable Approach

This transition to a more gradual emission and long-term unlock strategy signals a shift in the tokenomics of new projects. The pressure first-year emissions put on short-term prices—and the volatility these emissions have caused—are clear lessons learned from past tokens. These tokens tend to do better over the long haul if they don’t have a first-year price chart that looks like this (insert chart). So if emission schedules are supposed to produce tokens that retain more value over time, what do those in 2025 look like?

For investors and traders, understanding these changing release strategies is crucial for making informed decisions. Tokens with slower, more controlled emissions offer more predictable market behavior, while those with rapid unlocks might offer significant short-term gains but at the cost of higher volatility. As the market matures, this evolution in release strategies could lay the groundwork for tokens which are more sustainable in appearance, and whether they actually are or not, that token projects will offer sustainable growth instead of the unsustainable hype that precedes a downturn.

To sum up, the difference between the tokens of Q1 2024 and the tokens of Q1 2025 shows that projects are now following a better tokenomics approach. Projects in Q1 2025 are following more sustainable emission patterns that will provide reliable initial liquidity without immediately flooding the market with tokens. This trend, if it continues, could serve as a decent blueprint for the next bull phase. Emphasis is obviously now on long-term viability and stability.

Disclosure: This is not trading or investment advice. Always do your research before buying any cryptocurrency or investing in any services.

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