Cardano (ADA) Tokenomics, Unlock Schedule and Vesting Chart

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Cardano (ADA) Token Unlock & Vesting Schedule

As of October 16, 2026, 38.99 billion of the 45 billion ADA (86.64%) have been released. The schedule is ongoing, with no final release date. Over the next 12 months it releases 595.59 million ADA (all estimated) from PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion, worth about $137.04 million at today's price (1.59% of the market cap). Today's release is an estimated 1.7 million ADA from PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion.

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

Supply and initial distribution

ADA has a maximum supply of 45 billion coins. About 25.9 billion ADA went to buyers through pre-launch voucher sales. Another roughly 5.2 billion ADA was allocated at launch to IOHK, EMURGO, and the Cardano Foundation. Together, these made up about 31.1 billion ADA available at launch. The rest was set aside for gradual release through the network’s reward system. These figures describe the original allocation, rather than the holdings of any person or organization today. (cardano.org)

ADA connects several parts of Cardano’s economic model. It pays transaction fees and provides the stake used to help produce blocks. Network rewards draw on transaction fees and ADA released from reserves; a portion also goes to the community treasury. ADA holders can use their voting power to take part in governance directly or through a DRep. Rewards vary with factors such as pool performance, so staking is a way to participate in the network rather than a fixed payment schedule. (docs.cardano.org)

Upcoming ADA Releases

Period	Allocation	Type	Amount	Value	% of supply
Oct 16 – 31, 2026	PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion	Issuance, estimated	27.2M	$6.3M	0.06%
Nov 2026	PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion	Issuance, estimated	51.1M	$11.7M	0.11%
Dec 2026	PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion	Issuance, estimated	52.8M	$12.1M	0.12%
Jan 2027	PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion	Issuance, estimated	52.8M	$12.1M	0.12%
Feb 2027	PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion	Issuance, estimated	47.6M	$11M	0.11%
Mar 2027	PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion	Issuance, estimated	52.8M	$12.1M	0.12%
Total, next 12 months			595.6M	$137M	1.32%

1–6 of 12 releases

of 2 pages

Values at $0.230 per ADA (October 16, 2026), today's price, not a forecast. Releases continue after September 2027. Estimated amounts are modeled from the schedule's rules rather than dated by a source; see the Assumptions below. Releases without dates are listed under Allocations.

Assumptions

Cardano created about 31.1 billion ADA at genesis; IOHK's share also had a documented voluntary unlock schedule ending in 2019. Since Shelley, ADA has moved from the remaining reserve into staking rewards and the treasury, with dated reserve snapshots supporting an estimated curve between them. Around October 7–8, 2026, the explorer showed about 6.08 billion ADA still in reserves, so approximately 38.92 billion—not the 45-billion maximum—was outside reserves; an exact current figure was not established. Future reserve releases and most final treasury-funded payment dates remain open.

PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion: New issuance depends on network activity, such as staking, so it cannot be dated in advance.
Unredeemed public-sale vouchers: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
On-chain treasury spending: Releases depend on future governance or treasury decisions.
2025 Cardano Blockchain Ecosystem Budget administered by Intersect: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
Cardano Critical Integrations V1: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
AlphaGrowth Cardano PRIME treasury withdrawal: The sources give the amount but no release dates.
Project Catalyst Fund14: Releases depend on recipients claiming tokens or on grants being awarded.
Cardano Foundation Catalyst pilot grant pool: The original schedule was changed and the new timing is not yet published.

Sources (24)

Max Supply 45.00B

Unlocked Supply 38.99B

Unlock Progress 86.64%

Genesis Date Sep 23, 2017

Fully Unlocked Ongoing

Allocations 14

Marketcap Rank (#) 17

Price ($) 0.225 -5.52% (7d)

24h Volume ($) 18M -35.77% (7d)

Marketcap ($) 8.6B

Fully Diluted Value ($) 10B

Circulating Supply 83% HIGH

Perpetuals: 6 markets on Binance, OKX and Lighter · $127.4M open interest

Spot

Perp


ADA/USDT	38M	862K/707K
ADA/USD	14M	420K/626K
ADA/USD	10M	1.3M/1.5M
ADA/USDT	8.7M	807K/603K
ADA/USDT	8.2M	547K/432K
ADA/USDT	7.5M	1.9M/1.7M
ADA/USDT	6.9M	260K/243K
ADA/USDT	5M	678K/280K
ADA/USDT	4.8M	131K/186K
ADA/JPY	4.3M	76K/79K
ADA/USDC	3.8M	164K/177K
ADA/USDT	3M	102K/177K
ADA/EUR	2.9M	670K/983K
ADA/TRY	1.2M	43K/58K
ADA/USDC	1.1M	487K/736K
ADA/USDC	790K	129K/172K
ADA/BTC	675K	127K/172K
ADA/USDT	535K	390K/469K
ADA/USDT	469K	15K/19K
ADA/EUR	451K	26K/55K
ADA/USDC	426K	25K/26K
ADA/EUR	419K	27K/26K
ADA/ETH	265K	57K/58K
ADA/GBP	237K	29K/28K

Allocations

Genesis creation of ADA

31,112,484,646 tokens · 4 parts

Parts of this allocation with their own release dates are charted as their own allocations; the chart shows the rest here.

Cliff: Sep 23, 2017 — 100.00% of allocation · 31,112,484,646 tokens

Sources: GenesisGenesis Block

PoS reserve rewards and monetary expansion

13,887,515,354 tokens

Timing not yet established (Oct 8, 2026 - open): amount unknown

Observed release: 7,569,977,669 tokens

Cliff: Jun 13, 2026 — 0.07% of allocation · 10,187,510 tokens

Observed release: 227,350,175 tokens

Estimated from the last observation onward: about 1,701,675 per day (51,794,718 per month), the rate between the observations of 21 September 2026 and 7 October 2026.

Sources: Cardano monetary policyThe Cardano TreasuryFundamental Critcism of the Budget ProcessCardano ada Supply Distribution – Epoch 637Cardano ada Supply Distribution – Epoch 655ADA Pots HistoryCardanoscan – Cardano Blockchain Explorer

On-chain treasury spending

N/A tokens · 4 parts

Timing not yet established: amount unknown

Sources: The Cardano TreasuryThe Cardano Constitution

Cardano Foundation Catalyst pilot grant pool

2,000,000 tokens

Timing not yet established (August 2026 - open): amount unknown

Sources: New Catalyst pilot fund launching this summerCatalyst Pilot

Last Updated: 2026-10-08 21:11:49 UTC

Description

#17

Cardano is a proof-of-stake blockchain platform that aims to enable positive global change through innovation and research. It uses cutting-edge technologies to provide security and sustainability to decentralized applications and systems.

Sector:	Layer 1
Blockchain:	Other L1

2017

POS