Circulating, total and max supply

Circulating supply is the coins in the market right now. Total supply is all coins created so far, including locked ones. Max supply is how many coins can ever exist.

How it works

Circulating supply is the number of coins that can actually trade right now. Multiply it by price and you get market cap.

Total supply is every coin created so far minus burned ones, including coins locked up with the team, investors or project funds. Max supply is the hard ceiling set by the protocol. For bitcoin it is 21 million. Some coins, such as ETH, have no max at all.

The gap between these numbers shows future pressure on price. If 10% of max supply is circulating, another 90% will still be unlocked or mined. Even if demand stays the same, that can drag the price down.

Example with numbers

A token has a max of 1 billion, 600 million created (total), 200 million circulating and a $1 price. Market cap = $200 million. But 400 million existing coins are locked, and another 400 million may appear later. If they all hit the market with the same amount of money behind it, the price could fall to about $0.20.

Common mistake

A common mistake is comparing coins by the price of one unit and ignoring supply. A $0.01 coin with 100 trillion units can be worth more than a $100 coin. Always look at market cap, the share of coins circulating and the unlock schedule.

Questions and answers

What is circulating supply in simple terms?

It is the number of coins already on the market that can be freely bought and sold.

What is the difference between total supply and max supply?

Total supply is how many coins exist now. Max supply is how many can ever be created under the protocol's rules.

Why do some coins have no max supply?

Their rules are designed that way: new coins keep being issued as network rewards with no ceiling. What matters then is how fast new coins appear and whether any are burned.

Circulating, total and max supply

How it works

Questions and answers

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