When Bitcoin's price fluctuates sharply, a seemingly crazy token model is stirring up a storm in the crypto circle. The "price doubling to unlock" mechanism proposed by Binance founder Zhao Changpeng (CZ) may be rewriting the rules of the blockchain world.
One, the counterintuitive law of unlocking: forcing the project team to become long-termists.
The core of this model lies in the "price doubling to unlock" mechanism: each unlocking must meet the condition that the token price remains above double the previous unlocking price for 30 consecutive days. This means that if the project team wants to release more tokens, they must continuously drive value growth.
This is akin to putting a tight rein on the project team — when the token price drops, not only can they not cash out, but they will be forced into lock-up. Those seeking to cash out quickly with "shitty projects" will have nowhere to hide, while teams with real technological strength will gain sustained momentum. As CZ emphasized in a tweet: "This is not a short-term arbitrage tool but a long-term value commitment."
Two, the mathematical cage: the ingenious design behind the 5% unlocking red line.
The numbers in the model are by no means arbitrarily set: the initial unlocking of 10% ensures the starting capital, and subsequent unlocks are capped at 5% with a 6-month cooling period, creating a tight mathematical cage.
Assuming a project starts with a price of $1, after the first unlocking of 10%, it must wait for the price to stabilize above $2 for 30 days to unlock another 5%. The next unlocking requires the price to double again to $4, and so on. This exponential growth requirement forces the project team to meticulously plan each development stage.
It is worth noting that the team has the right to "unlock less but not more." This asymmetric design retains flexibility while eliminating the possibility of excessive cashing out. As CZ mentioned in the example: "When the price is $3, the next unlocking must wait until the price stabilizes above $6."
Three, the ultimate judgment of smart contracts: handing over private keys to third parties.
The most revolutionary breakthrough of this mechanism lies in transferring token control to a third-party managed smart contract. The project team loses the privilege to arbitrarily modify the rules, and the code truly becomes law.
This means:
Unlocking conditions are encoded into immutable mathematical rules.
Price data is verified in real-time through oracles.
Each unlocking must pass an on-chain verification "mathematical trial".
This decentralized design shifts token economics from "human governance" to "algorithmic governance." As CZ explained: "The project team cannot shorten intervals or increase amounts; they can only choose to sell less or not at all."
Four, stress testing: What will happen when a bear market arrives?
Imagine an extreme situation: a project's unlocking occurs during a bear market, with prices staying below the unlocking threshold for a long time. At this moment:
The team cannot obtain operational funds through selling.
Existing token holders face liquidity tightening.
Community governance needs to initiate emergency plans.
This instead forces the project team to establish healthier cash flow models and not rely on token sales for survival. As CZ recalled his early experience investing in Bitcoin: "When the price fell from $600 to $200, my lifestyle was not significantly affected."
Five, the paradigm shift in the crypto market: from harvesting to mutual growth.
This model is triggering transformations on three levels:
Reconstructing investment logic: token holders shift from short-term speculation to value companionship.
Team evaluation criteria: market value management ability becomes the core KPI.
Industry evolution direction: the survival space for air coins is completely compressed.
When the interests of the project team and token holders are deeply bound by mathematical rules, the crypto market may usher in a true era of value investment. As CZ said when commenting on the market crash: "Price fluctuations are a necessary lesson in the free market; what matters is establishing a pressure resistance mechanism."
This token economics revolution initiated by CZ may be unveiling a new chapter in the crypto world. When project teams must breathe and share fate with the community, and each unlocking becomes a milestone of value creation, the blockchain industry may finally have found the right way to open up the mainstream world. In this model, there are no winners take all, only continuous win-win — this may be the form that Satoshi Nakamoto initially envisioned for a decentralized utopia.