Eligible holders at the gate:
Hold — keep shares
Dump — sell into tape
Pre-committed demand turns a scheduled unlock into forced buying
staged & scheduled — every trader knows the date and size
rung 1 · absorbed
rung 2 · the gate
later rungs
released float — eligibility,
not sales
short interest
inventory to cover
call open interest
bullish positions
passive + retail
dip-buying demand
positioning builds ahead of the date
pre-committed
demand pool
the gate
holders:
hold or sell?
forced-buy
rally
shorts cover
float absorbed
supply
overhang
released float
outruns demand
committed & priced before shares trade
absorbed rung → pulls in demand → overhang shrinks
the next rung is two-sided: event hedging (elevated implied vol, put/call open
interest) can unwind supportively — or leave the released supply unabsorbed