Balancer (BAL)
Unlock Schedule
Balancer (BAL) Token Unlock & Vesting Schedule
The chart shows gross modeled releases of every allocation: vesting unlocks, new issuance and reserve distributions, each allocation counted once. These have different meanings; a scheduled release is not evidence that tokens entered circulation or were sold. Review the coverage, sources and assumptions below.
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
BAL’s original distribution
BAL was created to spread decision-making among people involved with Balancer. Its original plan set a ceiling of 100 million tokens, though the plan stated that the full amount might never be issued. Of that planned amount, 25 million BAL were allocated to founders, employee options, advisers, and investors, subject to vesting. Two funds received allocations of 5 million each: one for ecosystem work and one for fundraising. The remaining 65 million were intended mainly for liquidity providers. These figures describe the original allocation plan, rather than the number of tokens later issued. (balancer.gitbook.io)
For years, Balancer distributed BAL to encourage people to supply liquidity. A later system called veBAL let participants lock a position based on BAL and wrapped ether to gain voting influence and economic benefits. In April 2026, holders approved a major change: BAL emissions ended, and the fee-sharing benefits of veBAL were phased out. Protocol fees were directed to the DAO treasury instead. Existing veBAL locks retained a governance role during the transition. (forum.balancer.fi)
Governance today
BAL’s clearest use is voting. Holders can help decide major questions about treasury funds, protocol operations, and the project’s direction. Balancer adopted a voting setup designed to count BAL held or delegated across supported chains, while also accounting for BAL within certain locked positions. The September 2026 wind-down proposal illustrates how significant these votes can be: it asks holders to decide the future of both the protocol and its treasury. (forum.balancer.fi)
Assumptions
Balancer minted 35 million BAL for its founding stakeholders, Ecosystem Fund and Fundraising Fund at launch, while liquidity-provider rewards created additional BAL over time. The dated chart shows that launch mint, the first three weeks of rewards, stakeholder vesting, and estimated growth between reported total-supply observations; Balancer says gauge emissions were halted in 2026. Employee options and several named treasury grants have budgets but no established complete recipient-payment schedule. Future minting depends on governance, and the supplied September 2026 supply reference and any historical burns could not be independently reconciled to an official October 1 total.
- Employee stock-option reserve: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- Balancer Ecosystem Fund: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
- Ecosystem Fund grants: first batch: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- Aave Safety Module integration grant: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- Aave BPT and BAL money-markets integration grant: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- Ecosystem Fund grants: second proposed batch: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
- Balancer Labs Fundraising Fund: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
- Liquidity-provider BAL emissions: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
- Timeless ve8020 grant: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
- 1. https://medium.com/balancer-protocol/bal-is-live-104ba56e1945
- 2. https://docs.balancer.fi/concepts/governance/bal-token.html
- 3. https://forum.balancer.fi/t/introducing-vebal-tokenomics/2512
- 4. https://balancer-dao.gitbook.io/learn-about-balancer/fundamentals/vebal-tokenomics
- 5. https://forum.balancer.fi/t/bip-919-bal-tokenomics-revamp/7001
- 6. https://forum.balancer.fi/t/summary-batch-1-of-ecosystem-fund-grants/503
- 7. https://forum.balancer.fi/t/proposal-for-batch-2-of-ecosystem-fund-grants/522
- 8. https://forum.balancer.fi/t/bip-146-incentivize-8020-bpt-staking-ve8020/4210
- 9. https://forum.balancer.fi/t/bip-252-timeless-50k-bal-grant-application-ve8020-program/4453
- 10. https://forum.balancer.fi/t/bip-925-unwind-timeless-ve8020-bal-grant/7095
- 11. https://forum.balancer.fi/t/bip-928-orderly-winddown-of-balancer-and-distribution-of-the-treasury/7107
- 12. https://www.coingecko.com/
Allocations
Parts of this allocation with their own release dates are charted as their own allocations; the chart shows the rest here.
Parts of this allocation with their own release dates are charted as their own allocations; the chart shows the rest here.
Estimated from the last observation onward: about 8.79 per day (268 per month), the rate between the observations of 6 August 2026 and 28 September 2026.
Description
#1339
Balancer is a decentralized exchange that lets users swap any tokens without relying on third parties. Users can also join or create pools of tokens with different weights and fees, and earn from every swap.
| Sector: | DEX |
| Blockchain: | Ethereum |