Design tokenomics

Map your full allocation for public sale, investors, treasury, & ecosystem incentives

Your tokenomics define how tokens are allocated, distributed, and unlocked over time. Tally helps you finalize these decisions before announcing your sale.

Typical allocations

Category	Typical %	Purpose
Public sale	5-10%	Broad distribution, capital raise
Team	15-20%	Core contributor incentives
Investors	10-20%	Early backers
Community/airdrops	5-15%	Retroactive rewards, growth
Treasury	20-40%	Ongoing operations, grants
Ecosystem incentives	10-20%	Staking rewards, liquidity mining

Recent examples

MegaETH:

• 5% public sale

• Remainder across team, investors, ecosystem

Monad:

• 7.5% public sale

• 3.3% airdrop

• Remainder across team, investors, treasury

Plasma:

• 10% public sale

• Remainder undisclosed

Vesting schedules

Tokens for team, investors, and sometimes public buyers should vest over time.

Why vesting matters

• Aligns incentives — Long-term commitment from stakeholders

• Reduces sell pressure — Prevents immediate dumping

• Signals confidence — Team tokens locked = skin in the game

• Regulatory expectations — Increasingly expected by regulators and institutions

Typical schedules

Stakeholder	Cliff	Vesting period	Total lock
Team	12 months	36-48 months	4 years
Investors	6-12 months	18-24 months	2-3 years
Public sale	0-12 months	0-12 months	Varies
Advisors	6 months	24 months	2.5 years

Public sale lockups

Optional but increasingly common:

• Instant unlock — Tokens available immediately after sale

• Short lockup — 1-6 months, reduces immediate sell pressure

• Incentivized lockup — Bonus allocation for accepting longer lock (MegaETH offered this for U.S. accredited investors)

Token utility

Define what your token actually does. Tokens without clear utility face regulatory scrutiny and holder skepticism.

Common utility types

• Governance — Vote on protocol decisions, parameter changes, treasury allocation

• Staking — Lock tokens to earn rewards, secure the network, or access features

• Access — Required to use certain protocol features

• Fee discounts — Reduced fees for token holders

• Revenue share — Portion of protocol revenue distributed to stakers

Utility considerations

• Utility should exist from day one or have a clear activation timeline

• Purely speculative tokens face regulatory risk

• Document utility clearly in your token disclosures

Documentation requirements

Token disclosure document

• Total supply and allocation breakdown

• Vesting schedules for all categories

• Token utility and use cases

• Risk factors

• Use of proceeds

Visual tokenomics

• Pie chart of allocation

• Vesting unlock schedule chart

• Clear, simple graphics for marketing

Common mistakes

Excessive team allocation. >25% raises red flags with community and investors.

Short vesting. Team tokens unlocking in <2 years signals short-term thinking.

Vague utility. "Governance" without specifics isn't enough. Define what token holders actually control.

Misaligned incentives. If insiders can exit before product milestones, incentives are broken.

Undocumented changes. Any changes to tokenomics post-announcement destroy trust. Lock in your decisions.