I've seen these notions in ICO articles and didn't find an answer on the internet. What are and why we use this(locking, unlocking) mechanism?
1 Answer
Locking up tokens is a mechanism that does not allow some token owners (usually the founders and core team) to transact, move the tokens, or in other words sell the tokens for a specific period of time
This ensures that they will work in order to increase the value of the tokens so at the end of the lock period, the tokens will still have value.
It prevents raising funds in the ICO and selling the tokens right away. That's why it applies to people whose work is very important in making the company a success