Create a token grant template

Overview

If you want to import token grants in bulk, you first need to build token grant templates in your Coinbase Token Manager account.

A token grant template is a predefined structure used to streamline the creation and management of token grants. It captures vesting and lockup rules such as schedules, cliffs, and durations, and can also represent custom sets of dates and percentages. Templates help ensure consistency, reduce manual errors, and save time when issuing grants to employees, contributors, investors, and other stakeholders.

Step 1 – Define your token grant template parameters

Before you build a token grant template, review the vesting and lockup clauses in your executed legal documents. Determine:

• Whether vesting schedules apply

• Whether lockup schedules apply

• Whether schedules are linear (regular, equal intervals) or custom (specific percentages at defined times)

• The exact parameters for each schedule (durations, cliffs, frequencies, occurrence dates, and percentages)

Vesting schedule parameters:

• Vesting type

  • Linear vesting: tokens vest gradually at a regular cadence

  • Custom vesting: tokens vest according to a custom schedule with specified percentages at specific times

• Linear vesting parameters

  • Vesting cliff

    • Optional initial period before any tokens vest

    • Specify both:

      • Cliff duration (for example, 12 months)

      • Cliff percentage (for example, 25 percent of the grant vests at the cliff)

  • Vesting schedule length

    • Total duration of the vesting period, including any cliff

  • Vesting frequency

    • How often tokens vest after the cliff (for example, every month)

  • Vesting occurrence date

    • What day of the month vest events occur, for example:

      • Start of the month

      • End of the month

      • Same day as the grant start date

• Custom vesting parameters

  • Build a table that maps:

    • Time periods or specific dates, and

    • The percentage of tokens that vests at each point

Lockup schedule parameters:

• Lockup type

  • Linear lockup: tokens unlock gradually

  • Custom lockup: tokens unlock at specific times or all at once according to your custom rules

• Linear lockup parameters

  • Lockup cliff

    • Optional initial period before any tokens unlock

    • Specify both:

      • Cliff duration

      • Cliff percentage that unlocks at the cliff

  • Lockup schedule length

    • Total duration of the lockup period

  • Unlock frequency

    • How often tokens unlock after the cliff (for example, every 3 months)

  • Unlock start alignment

    • Whether unlocks align with the grant start date or follow calendar‑based intervals

• Custom unlock parameters

  • Build a table that maps:

    • Time periods or specific dates, and

    • The percentage of tokens that unlock at each point

Having these parameters defined up front makes it much easier to build accurate templates in Coinbase Token Manager.

Step 2 – Build your template in Coinbase Token Manager

The following is an example of creating an industry‑standard template: a 48‑month vesting schedule with a 25 percent 12‑month cliff, plus a 36‑month lockup with a 33.33 percent 12‑month cliff.

Generic steps:

1. Open Coinbase Token Manager and go to the Token grants area.

2. Go to the Templates tab.

3. Select Create new and choose Token grant template.

4. Define a template name that clearly describes it, for example:

   • Reference the stakeholder group (for example, Employees, Investors)

   • Include a short schedule summary (for example, 4‑year vesting, 1‑year cliff; 3‑year unlock, 1‑year lockup cliff)

5. Choose the schedule type:

   • Vesting only

   • Lockup only

   • Vesting and lockup, if you want both in a single template

6. Configure linear vesting parameters:

   • Add a vesting cliff (for example, 25 percent at 12 months)

   • Set the total vesting length (for example, 48 months)

   • Set the vesting frequency (for example, every 1 month)

   • Choose the vesting occurrence date (for example, same day as the grant start date)

7. Configure linear lockup parameters, if applicable:

   • Add a lockup cliff (for example, 33.33 percent at 12 months)

   • Set the total lockup length (for example, 36 months)

   • Set the unlock frequency (for example, every 1 month)

   • Choose the unlock alignment (grant start date versus calendar‑based)

8. Save the template to add it to your template library.

After saving:

• Copy or record the template ID

• You will use this ID when:

  • Creating grants in the app and applying the template, or

  • Bulk importing grants via CSV that reference this template

Step 3 – Use the template ID to bulk import token grants

Once your templates are created:

• Use the generated template ID in your bulk import CSV for token grants

• In your grants upload sheet:

  • Ensure each row that should use a template has the correct template ID in the appropriate column (for example, Template ID)

  • Confirm that stakeholder profiles exist for all grants in the CSV before uploading

You can also apply a template to a one‑off grant directly in the app when using the single‑grant creation flow.

Sample use cases for token grant templates

Time‑based vesting and unlock grants:

• Restricted token awards

• Token purchases

• Employee onboarding bonus grants

• Investor token warrant execution

• Advisor compensation

• Bounty or reward programs

• Contributor grants for DAO or community projects

• Ecosystem partnership incentives

• Key opinion leader (KOL) grants

• Token allocations for board members or executives

• Employee retention grants

One‑time transfer grants:

• Token mint‑related transfers

• Spot token bonuses

• Digital asset vendor payments