0x Protocol (ZRX)
Unlock Schedule
0x Protocol (ZRX) Token Unlock & Vesting Schedule
The unlock chart above provides a clear visual overview of the 0x Protocol (ZRX) token release schedule, showing when and how tokens enter circulation across investor, team, treasury, and community allocations. Understanding these tokenomics dynamics is critical for evaluating potential supply pressure, inflation impact, and market liquidity over time — key factors that can influence ZRX price performance.
Each color segment in the chart corresponds to a specific allocation group described in the Allocations section below. Underlying assumptions and data models used to reconstruct this schedule are explained in detail under Assumptions, while broader utility insights and token use cases are covered in Tokenomics & Utility.
Tokenomics & Utility
ZRX is an ERC‑20 token with a fixed supply of 1,000,000,000 created at genesis. The initial allocation included a public sale and set‑asides for the team, advisors, and development funds to support ecosystem growth. Today, the token’s main role is governance: one token generally corresponds to one vote in protocol and treasury decisions, and holders can delegate voting power to representatives. (en.wikipedia.org)
In earlier versions, ZRX aligned incentives for “relayers” and market makers. With 0x v3 (2020), staking let market makers and delegators earn ETH‑denominated liquidity rewards funded by protocol fees. In September 2021, following community deliberation (ZEIP‑91), protocol fees were removed in v4 and v3, and the rewards mechanism was retired. Since then, ZRX’s utility has centered on governance, stewardship of community treasuries, and signaling for protocol direction. (docs.0xprotocol.org)
Because 0x is infrastructure, applications built on it can introduce their own fee models. Many apps that integrate the Swap API set an application‑level fee or monetize positive slippage, while ZRX remains the token for protocol‑level decisions. (0x.org)
Assumptions
- Total supply is fixed at 1,000,000,000 ZRX with no ongoing inflation or consensus issuance.
Founder’s launch announcement specifies fixed total supply; token contract on Etherscan shows a fixed 1B supply.
- Genesis date modeled as 2017-08-15 (TGE).
Public sale and initial distribution began on Aug 15, 2017. The ERC-20 contract was created on 2017-08-11; using TGE as the circulation start for release modeling.
- Founding Team vesting interpreted as 25% at 12-month cliff, then remaining 75% linear monthly over the next 36 months.
Described as a 'traditional 4 year vesting schedule with a one year cliff' in the official announcement; this is the standard implementation.
- Early Backers & Advisors, Retained by 0x Org, and External Development Fund are modeled as unlocked at TGE.
Primary announcement gives allocations but does not publish vesting schedules for these buckets. No official vesting terms found; thus assumed liquid at TGE.
- No PoW/PoS or protocol-level ZRX emissions included.
0x staking rewards and protocol fees were denominated in ETH and distributed to makers/stakers; no new ZRX issuance occurs from staking.
- 1. https://medium.com/%40willwarren89/announcing-the-0x-token-zrx-launch-d4c097d893c7
- 2. https://etherscan.io/address/0xe41d2489571d322189246dafa5ebde1f4699f498
- 3. https://rainbow.me/token/ethereum/0xe41d2489571d322189246dafa5ebde1f4699f498
- 4. https://medium.com/%40mattytay/0x-the-community-owned-liquidity-api-26da5732447e
Allocations
Description
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0x Protocol is an open-source, decentralized exchange infrastructure built on the Ethereum blockchain, designed to enable the peer-to-peer exchange of Ethereum-based assets. It provides developers with the tools to build their own custom exchange applications with a focus on performance, security, and flexibility.
| Sector: | DEX |
| Blockchain: | Ethereum |