Plan liquidity routes before token unlocks.

01 /

An unlock is a change in availability

A published release schedule helps teams identify when tokens may become transferable. It does not establish that every recipient will sell, that transfers will happen immediately, or that tokens will arrive on a particular venue. Treating the entire unlocked amount as an imminent market order creates false precision.

Begin with the release conditions and the source of each date. Then distinguish confirmed instructions from possible intentions and unknown behaviour. A holder may retain an allocation, transfer it to another account, use an agreed private route, or seek market execution. Record only what there is authority and evidence to record.

Scenario planning can explore these alternatives without turning them into a forecast. The purpose is to identify operational dependencies and capacity constraints before a decision is urgent.

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Compare the routes on the same basis

A public order book provides visible prices and quantities, subject to change. A negotiated block or request-for-quote arrangement may provide a price for a specified amount under a different set of conditions. Neither route is automatically preferable. Compare the amount, timing, fees, settlement requirements, and counterparty obligations on a consistent basis.

Coinbase Prime’s RFQ documentation offers one concrete example: clients request a quote, evaluate its terms, and either accept it within its validity window or let it expire. Product eligibility and venue-specific requirements still apply. This is a description of that workflow, not a guarantee that the same route is available for a particular token or client. [1]

For each permitted route, ask what happens if only part of the instruction completes, if a quote expires, if a transfer is delayed, or if the counterparty cannot settle. A favourable indicative price is incomplete without those answers.

Also distinguish genuine liquidity across venues from multiple views of the same inventory. Access depends on funding, transfer availability, and account permissions. A routing comparison should not count capacity that the mandate cannot use.

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Give a phased plan conditions, not just a clock

Dividing an authorised instruction into stages can create review points. It does not remove price risk, guarantee lower cost, or ensure that the full amount will complete. A longer execution window can expose the holder to changing market conditions.

An effective plan therefore specifies more than a sequence of times. It identifies the permitted amount, price or cost limits, eligible venues, duration, remaining inventory, and conditions for pausing. Material changes need the approval required by the mandate.

• Capacity deteriorates: reassess executable size and the remaining instruction.
• Access changes: check funding and transfer dependencies before changing route.
• Limits are reached: pause or escalate through the agreed process.
• Time expires: report the unexecuted balance and obtain any required new authority.

These controls support an orderly decision process. They should not be used to conceal material information, create misleading trading activity, or evade venue rules.

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Treat settlement as part of the execution plan

Before funds move, confirm the legal counterparty, authorised destination, asset and network, transfer restrictions, and settlement sequence. Use the agreed verification process for address or payment-detail changes. Required eligibility, sanctions, and other due-diligence checks belong before commitment.

Where a transaction involves several parties, document who delivers first, which confirmations are required, how delays are handled, and when completion is recognised. Custody or transfer authority must be explicit; coordination alone does not create it.

After execution, reconcile instructions, fills, fees, asset movements, and any remaining balance. A filled order and a completed settlement are separate milestones. The record should establish both.

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Prepare before the event becomes urgent

A useful pre-unlock review produces a supply map, a set of authorised scenarios, a route comparison, and a settlement checklist with named owners. It should also state which assumptions would require a new review.

The objective is not to predict a token’s price after an unlock. It is to make the next authorised decision workable when supply availability, holder intentions, and market conditions meet.