Token Vesting Smart Contract

Introduction
Token vesting ensures fair distribution by releasing tokens to stakeholders over time. This tutorial demonstrates how to create a token vesting smart contract for a transparent release schedule.

Step 1: Setting Up Your Development Environment

Make sure you have these tools installed:

• Node.js
• Truffle or Hardhat for contract development
• Ganache for local testing

Step 2: Writing the Vesting Contract

In the contracts folder, create TokenVesting.sol:

// SPDX-License-Identifier: MIT  
pragma solidity ^0.8.0;  

import "@openzeppelin/contracts/token/ERC20/IERC20.sol";  

contract TokenVesting {  
    address public beneficiary;  
    uint256 public start;  
    uint256 public duration;  
    uint256 public released;  
    IERC20 public token;  

    constructor(address _beneficiary, uint256 _start, uint256 _duration, address _token) {  
        beneficiary = _beneficiary;  
        start = _start;  
        duration = _duration;  
        token = IERC20(_token);  
    }  

    function release() public {  
        require(block.timestamp >= start, "Vesting not started");  
        uint256 vestedAmount = (token.balanceOf(address(this)) * (block.timestamp - start)) / duration;  
        uint256 unreleased = vestedAmount - released;  
        require(unreleased > 0, "No tokens to release");  

        released += unreleased;  
        token.transfer(beneficiary, unreleased);  
    }  
}  

Step 3: Deploying the Contract

Configure your deployment script to set parameters such as the beneficiary address, start time, duration, and token address.

Step 4: Testing and Interaction

Use Ganache or testnets to simulate vesting scenarios. Call release() after the vesting period begins to transfer vested tokens.

Recommendation

Developing a robust token vesting mechanism is critical for building trust in your project. For advanced features like cliff periods or multi-beneficiary vesting, Web3Dev’s professional services are here to help.