A typical structure is a one-year cliff with three years of monthly vesting. Nothing is received for twelve months, then 25% arrives in one block, then the remainder drips.
Cliffs cluster supply into single dates, which is why they show up as discrete events on price charts rather than as gradual pressure. They also align incentives, since recipients who leave before the cliff usually forfeit everything.
Example: 100m tokens on a 1-year cliff plus 36 months linear means 25m land on day 365, then about 2.08m every month after. Against 150m circulating, that first day is a 17% supply increase in one step.
Related: token-unlock, tokenomics, circulating-supply, genesis-block