📖
Web3 Encyclopedia
  • Welcome aboard!
  • Source
  • 😀Evolution from Web 1.0 to Web 3.0
    • Web 1.0 Web 2.0 Web 3.0
    • Key Features
    • Current Limitations
    • Future of Web 3.0
    • Learn: What Is Web3?
    • Learn: Will Every Brand Have a Web3 Strategy?
    • Learn: Big Ideas in 2023
    • Learn: The Web3 Paradox: Why Scaling Usage Alone Won't Lead to Mass Adoption?
    • Learn: Is Web3 A Marketing Buzz or Tech Revolution?
    • Learn: What is the relationship between blockchain and Web3?
    • Learn:Empowering Women in Web 3.0: The Role and Contributions of Women in Blockchain, DeFi, and dApp
    • Learn: Web 3.0 and the Future of E-Commerce
    • Learn: 12 ways ecosystem projects can attract more developers
    • Learn: How Web3 is Impacting Education?
    • Learn: Web3 And The Future Of Digital Advertising
    • Learn: Web3’s impact on personalization, trust and engagement
    • Learn: Web3-Powered Identity Management -- Unlocking the Benefits of Decentralization
    • Learn: Why Web2 companies fail in Web3 while others made it?
    • Learn: To Identify or Not in a Web3 World?
    • 🤫[Insider Series] McKinsey x Web3
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 💲Blockchain Fundamentals
    • Why is Blockchain So Popular?
    • Introduction to Blockchain
    • Blockchain Misconceptions
    • Blockchain vs Bitcoin, Database, Cloud
    • Consensus Mechanism
    • Public and Private Keys
    • Hash Functions and Cryptography
    • Sharding
    • Types of Blockchains: PoW, PoS and Private
    • Understanding Cryptocurrency
    • Coins vs Tokens
    • Blockchain Trilemma
    • Legality
    • Learn : Google’s Cloud Based Blockchain Node Service
    • Learn: How Blockchain, Digital assets, and Web3 Unlock Financial Inclusion Globally
    • Learn: Will Chinese-Made Crypto Soar Higher?
    • Learn: What Does MiCA Mean for Crypto in Europe?
    • Learn: Unraveling the Intricacies of Blockchain Forensics and Asset Tracking
    • Learn: Promising blockchain use cases in healthcare industry
    • Learn: The Role of Blockchain in Authenticating and Provenance Art
    • Learn: Blockchain-Based Digital Identity: Benefits, Risks, and Implementation Challenges
    • Learn: The Future of Energy Supply Chains
    • Learn: Revolutionizing smart contracts and cryptocurrency
    • Learn: Nigeria goes blockchain
    • Learn: A Game Changer for Online Gaming?
    • Learn: Is blockchain technology ready for high-storage applications?
    • Learn: Will Blockchain Technology Mark a Turning Point in Fraud Prevention?
    • Learn: Why ZK-rollups need data availability?
    • Learn: How will generative AI disrupt blockchain?
    • Learn: A New Blockchain for Generative AI?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🏟️Web3 Utilities
    • Decentralized Applications (dApps)
    • Cross-chain Bridges
    • DAO
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Learn: Is Community-building Essential for Web3 Startups?
    • Learn: ‘Decentralization Theater’
    • Learn: Crypto and AI- A yay or nay combination?
    • Learn: Dissecting the DAO
    • Learn: What is motivating Lido DAO to rise?
    • Learn: How to Turn Your Community Into a DAO?
    • Learn: The Key to Decentralized Decision Making
    • Learn: How Web 3.0 can disrupt the supply chain industry?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🪙Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin
    • Bitcoin's Blockchain Technology
    • UTXO Model and Transaction Fees
    • Bitcoin Mining and Mempool
    • Learn: What is bitcoin mining?
    • What are Hard Forks and Soft Forks
    • What is SegWit and the Lightning Network
    • Bitcoin Ecosystem
    • Can Bitcoin be Destroyed? Game Theory and Network Attacks
    • Learn: Crypto token supplies explained
    • Learn: What is crypto tax-loss harvesting, and how does it work?
    • Learn: Can Crypto Go Green? How to Invest in Eco-Friendly Cryptocurrencies
    • Learn: Why Did FTX Collapse? Here’s What to Know.
    • Learn: How Sam Bankman-Fried swindled $8 billion in customer money?
    • Learn: How much is Bitcoin worth today?
    • Learn: The Costs of Running a Bitcoin Node In Nigeria
    • Learn: Has 2022 Left Any Crypto Positives?
    • Learn: How Crypto Exchanges Can Be Free of Risk?
    • Learn: Greed, Lies and FTX: Is Crypto a Force for Good or Evil?
    • Learn: Is Crypto a Cultural Movement?
    • Learn: What are the consequences of crypto’s ongoing regulatory process?
    • Learn: Beyond the Crash and Embracing NFTs?
    • Learn: Understanding crypto bag holders and their mindset
    • Learn: Inscriptions: Just A Fad, Or A Real Threat To Bitcoin Becoming Decentralized Money?
    • Learn: How Bitcoin Ordinals Can Change the Future Of Mining?
    • Learn: What is a supernet?
    • Learn: Bitcoin Miners Celebrate 10 Years Since First ASIC, What Changed Since Then?
    • Learn: Bill Vs. CBDC – Why This US Congressman Wants To Block The Fed From Issuing A Digital Dollar?
    • Learn: Why Bitcoin Will Blow People’s Minds In 2025?
    • Learn: How the Howey Test Sheds Light on Cryptocurrency's Regulatory Gray Area
    • Learn: Cryptocurrency vs AI: A Complex Debate
    • Learn: Where the U.S. Government Went Wrong in Regulating Crypto?
    • Learn: The Nostr Privacy Paradox
    • Learn: Do algorithmic stablecoins have a future as centralized coins are under scrutiny?
    • Learn: Is Bitcoin Set To Revolutionize The Financial World With Its Superior Purchasing Power?
    • Learn: What is Shibarium, and what does it mean for Shiba Inu?
    • Learn: What is a crypto dusting attack?
    • Learn: Is the Adoption of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) the Future?
    • Learn: How Artificial Intelligence Could Revolutionize Crypto?
    • Learn: What’s next for EU’s crypto industry as European Parliament passes MiCA?
    • Learn: Why the EU Has MiCA and the U.S. Has Securities Law Confusion?
    • Learn: Six New Projects Looking to Mitigate Bitcoin Mining’s Energy Footprint
    • Learn: Who on Crypto Twitter chose not to pay for a blue checkmark?
    • Learn: What is the wash-sale rule in Crypto?
    • Learn: What is Pepecoin and can it flip memecoins Dogecoin and Shiba Inu?
    • Learn: Can you recover stolen Bitcoin from crypto scams?
    • Learn: What the ‘anti-mining bill’ means for the crypto industry in Texas?
    • Learn: Does the US have a crypto ‘tax loophole’ problem?
    • Learn: How users can stay protected?
    • Learn: How Crypto Revolutionize Cheaper and Faster Transactions?
    • Learn: Can NFTs and CFDs be BFFs?
    • Learn: A PR expert’s tips for memecoin projects
    • Learn: Why politicians aren't convinced about the Digital Euro?
    • Learn: How A 90-Year Old TA Theory Predicted The Sudden Bitcoin Boom?
    • Learn: Social Trading Platforms and CFDs: A New Paradigm in Investment
    • Learn: How could the Chinese economic crisis impact Bitcoin and crypto?
    • Learn: How do they compare: Bitcoin IRA vs. traditional IRA?
    • Learn: Why Tokenized Assets Are Safer During a Banking Crisis?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🛢️Ethereum
    • Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • What can Ethereum do?
    • What is Ether (ETH)?
    • What's Unique About ETH?
    • What are Smart Contracts?
    • Energy Consumption?
    • Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM)
    • Pros & Cons of Smart Contracts
    • Decentralized Applications (dApps)
    • Ethereum Token Standards (ERC-20, ERC-721 and ERC-1155)
    • Evolution of Ethereum
    • How to Get Your First Ethereum
    • Learn: Next Ethereum Upgrade — Shanghai Upgrade
    • Learn: Tipping Scale for Crypto Adoption: Usability vs. Accessibility
    • Learn: Major Publicly Traded U.S. Bitcoin Miner Files For Chapter 11 – Impact On The Market?
    • Learn: 5 altcoin projects that made a real difference in 2022
    • Learn: How Tether Can Be a More Stable Stablecoin?
    • Learn: Are the Ethereum Killers Still Deadly?
    • Learn: What Ethereum Tech Trends Are Weathering the Bear Market?
    • Learn: How Ethereum’s token burns are making it a deflationary cryptocurrency?
    • Learn: A few things to know about Ethereum's Shanghai Upgrade
    • Learn: The Role of Enterprise Ethereum
    • Learn: Understanding Layer 2 Scaling Solutions for the Ethereum Network
    • Learn: The Battle of Giants: Bitcoin vs Ethereum
    • Learn: Cryptography, Smart Contracts and Distributed Networks
    • Learn: The Memecoin Grift and How It Threatens Ethereum Culture
    • Learn: What Is Ethereum’s ‘Data Availability' Problem, and Why Does It Matter?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 👛Wallet
    • What is a Blockchain Wallet?
    • Hardware / Software Wallet
    • How to Get Your First Cryptocurrency
    • Setting up Metamask Wallet
    • Learn: How to connect the Avalanche network to MetaMask?
    • Learn: How to pass on your crypto when you die?
    • Learn: What are hierarchical deterministic (HD) crypto wallets?
    • Learn: Pros and Cons of Digital Wallets
    • Learn : How Web 3.0 Wallets Are Redefining Digital Asset Security?
    • Learn: Open source: Buzzword or real security for crypto wallets?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🌕New & Rising Protocols
    • Binance
    • NEAR
    • Solana
    • Fantom
    • Polygon
    • Cardano
    • Polkadot
    • Cosmos
    • Harmony
    • Cronos
    • Optimism
    • Terra
    • Who Will Win the L1 Wars?
    • Learn: New Layer 1 Blockchains Are Expanding the DeFi Ecosystem But No Eth Killers Yet
    • Learn: Is an Increased Focus on Layer-2 Scaling and ZK Technology Justified?
    • Learn: What Are the Stakes in the SEC vs. Ripple Case?
    • Learn: What is The Graph, and how does it work?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 📈Decentralized Finance (DeFi)
    • CEX vs DEX
    • CeFi vs DeFi
    • Algorithmic Stablecoins
    • Airdrop
    • Liquidity Pool
    • Impermanent Loss
    • Swapping
    • Wrapped Token
    • Arbitrage Opportunities
    • Staking
    • Yield Farming
    • Total Value Locked (TVL)
    • Gas Fees
    • Lending & Borrowing
    • Useful Tools
    • Activity: Uniswap & Pancake Swap
    • Learn: Automated Market Makers (AMMs) in DeFi
    • Learn: Crypto Moving towards ESG: What Is Regenerative Finance (ReFi)
    • Learn: What Is dYdX? Understanding the Decentralized Crypto Exchange
    • Learn: It's A Wrap - DeFi in 2022
    • Learn: Why DeFi should expect more hacks this year?
    • Learn: The Security Challenges of DeFi
    • Learn: The Promising Future of Decentralized Social Media on Web 3.0
    • Learn: Can CBDCs, Tokenized Deposits, Stablecoins and DeFi Coexist?
    • Learn: The Increasing Popularity of DeFi and Its Potential to Disrupt Traditional Finance
    • Learn: The future of DeFi is ReFi
    • Learn: DeFi aggregation
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 🙈Non-Fungible Token (NFT)
    • What are NFTs?
    • Case Study
    • Storage
    • Who are the Players?
    • NFT Marketplace
    • NFT Useful Resources
    • Activity: Mint Your Own NFT
    • Learn: How You Can Prevent Hackers From Stealing Your NFTs?
    • Learn: What Is an NFT Floor Price?
    • Learn: Should Bored Ape buyers be legally entitled to refunds?
    • Learn: China’s view of NFTs different from rest of the world’s
    • Learn: NFTs IRL: How Digital Collectibles Are Forging Offline Experiences
    • Learn: How NFT Brands Can Cut Through The Noise
    • Learn: How Web3 disrupts the music sector?
    • Learn: Unlockable content in NFTs
    • Learn: Why Meta Matters in NFTs?
    • Learn: Should NFT Marketplaces Become Centralized?
    • Learn: Hermès vs. MetaBirkins: The NFT Case That Could Have Major Trademark and Artistic Consequence
    • Learn: What are phygital NFTs, and how do they work?
    • Learn: What is NFT ticketing and how does it work?
    • Learn: Why Solana NFT marketplace is seeing less active users?
    • Learn: NFTs and Intellectual Property
    • Learn: How AI Is Changing Artistic Creation and Challenging IP Laws?
    • Learn: The Future of NFTs: Exploring Dynamic NFTs and Their Versatile Use Cases
    • Learn: NFTs in the event and ticketing industry
    • Learn: What is NFT rarity, and how to calculate it?
    • Learn: What happens to your NFTs when you die?
    • Learn: Dogecoin-Like Spike in Milady NFTs After Elon Musk’s Tweet, But Will It Last?
    • Learn: What are NFT royalties, and how do they work?
    • Learn: How developers aim to store crypto inside NFTs?
    • Learn: Generative Art NFTs: What Are They & Why Are They So Popular?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 💗Metaverse
    • What is the Metaverse?
    • Metaverse Economy
    • Metaverse Companies
    • GameFi
    • Learn: Are We in the Metaverse Yet?
    • Learn: Can the Metaverse exist without blockchain?
    • Learn: Can the Metaverse Facilitate Sustainable Growth of Defi Systems?
    • Learn: What is the role of biometrics in the metaverse?
    • Learn: Can metaverse be the future court?
    • Learn: Metaverse Fashion Is on the Rise, but for Whom?
    • Learn: Sustainability in the Metaverse: Challenges and Opportunities
    • Learn: How To Build A Responsible Metaverse?
    • Learn: What is a VTuber, and how do you become one?
    • Learn: How proof-of-identity provides human experiences?
    • Learn: The “Metaverse” Next Frontier for Business: Impact And Challenges
    • Learn: The 5 Biggest Misconceptions About The Metaverse
    • Learn: Why culture and ownership are critical to the metaverse?
    • TL;DR 👀
  • 👾Career in Web3 (coming soon)
    • Developers
    • Moderators
    • Community Managers
    • UI/ UX Designers
    • Digital Fashion Designers
  • 🌱Sustainability (Coming Soon)
    • Industry Effort
    • Co-author
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  • What is the crypto token supply?
  • What is a circulating supply?
  • What is the maximum supply?
  • What is a total supply?
  • Total supply vs. maximum and circulating supply
  1. Bitcoin

Learn: Crypto token supplies explained

Circulating, maximum and total supply

PreviousCan Bitcoin be Destroyed? Game Theory and Network AttacksNextLearn: What is crypto tax-loss harvesting, and how does it work?

Last updated 2 years ago

What is the crypto token supply?

The crypto token supply establishes how many cryptocurrency coins will exist at any particular time and could be the circulating, maximum or total supply.

The total supply of a refers to the sum of the circulating supply and the coins that are locked up in escrow, a smart contract where a third party temporarily keeps an asset until a particular and agreed condition is met. The maximum supply is the upper limit on the number of tokens that can be created, while the circulating supply is the number of tokens that exist and are available for trade in the market.

All the cryptocurrency supply metrics are crucial for determining token distribution, demand and market capitalization. They can impact the price of a cryptocurrency and are essential criteria for investors who want to assess a project’s worth.

Unlike fiat currencies, which central banks can print at will, most cryptocurrency tokens have a predetermined supply that cannot be increased or decreased freely. A token’s supply can be released at once, but most cryptocurrencies are mined such as coins or minted in the case of coins over time.

Some cryptocurrencies have a limited supply, like Bitcoin (), which will only ever have a finite supply of 21 million coins. Other cryptocurrencies have a maximum supply but not a finite supply. Ether’s () supply, for example, is not , but the issuance of new coins was at 1,600 ETH per day after the Merge occurred.

What is a circulating supply?

A cryptocurrency circulating supply refers to the number of tokens in circulation in the market at any given time that are available for trade.

The circulation supply metric is used to define the market capitalization of a given cryptocurrency and accounts for the size of its economy. A cryptocurrency’s market cap is obtained by multiplying the price per unit by the number of all the existing coins in a , even the ones that have been lost or confiscated.

Somewhat emblematic is the example of Bitcoin and its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, who mined millions of BTC in the early years but never moved them. Whatever the reason behind such a decision, all those Bitcoin are still included in the total circulating supply of the cryptocurrency.

There is a sub-metric of market cap, denominated realized market cap, which calculates the price of a coin when it was last moved as opposed to the current value. Realized market cap does not include coins that have been lost or are dormant in a blockchain, reducing their impact on the price.

Some cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin, have a finite supply, and their circulation is only increased through . On the other hand, developers of some more centralized tokens can increase their circulation supply through instantaneous minting, a bit like central banks.

Circulation supply can also decrease by a process called , which means destroying the coins by sending them to a wallet whose keys are not available to anyone. For this reason, the circulation supply metric should be considered somehow approximate.

What is the maximum supply?

A cryptocurrency’s maximum supply is the total number of tokens that will ever be mined, and it is usually defined when the genesis block is created.

The other two metrics — circulating and total supply — also affect a token’s price, but to a lesser extent than the maximum supply. When a cryptocurrency hits maximum supply, no more new coins can ever be created. When that happens, two main results are produced:

  • The cryptocurrency becomes more scarce and as a result, its price may increase if demand exceeds supply;

  • Miners have to rely on fees to get rewards for their contributions.

What is a total supply?

A token’s total supply is calculated by adding the circulating supply to the number of coins that have been mined but not yet distributed in the market.

Another instance occurs when a new cryptocurrency project is launched, and the number of tokens issued is not equal to the one being distributed. These types of measures are usually taken to follow demand and not oversupply a cryptocurrency that could, as a result, affect the price negatively.

It could also be the case of tokens created by developers at a blockchain’s launch as premine to use as development funds but have not been circulated yet. Moreover, burned coins or tokens are not calculated in the total supply, as they are tokens sent and permanently locked up in a burned address that nobody will ever be able to access and are therefore eliminated forever.

Total supply vs. maximum and circulating supply

Circulating and maximum supply are equally important in their own use, and understanding their implication vs. the total supply can help assess their impact on the cryptocurrency’s price.

How a price may change in the future is a crucial assessment for an investor who could plan a different strategy depending on how each metric performs against the total supply. Total and circulating supply can change over time, so it’s essential to keep up to date with the latest developments of a project.

A summary of differences between total supply, maximum and circulating supply can be found in the below table:

Cryptocurrency coins or tokens can be easily compared to publicly traded shares in the stock market, as their price reflects supply and demand conditions. The more coins are in existence, the more demand there needs to be for a price to increase.

A low supply means that the token (a share) is scarce and if in high demand, its price will likely rise. On the other hand, if the demand for a cryptocurrency is low but has a large supply, its price may drop.

is capped at 21 million, and although anything is possible, its strict protocol and code are built so that no more BTC can ever be mined. Other cryptocurrencies do not have a maximum supply but may have a cap on the number of new coins that can be minted with a specific cadence, like in the case of Ether.

, on the other hand, tend to keep the maximum supply constant at all times to avoid a supply shock that could affect and fluctuate the price too much. Their stability is guaranteed by collateral reserve assets or algorithms created to control supply through the burning process.

are designed to maintain a stable price, but they have drawbacks as they are vulnerable to de-pegging risks. Also, non-algorithmic stablecoins like Tether may risk de-pegging, as happened in June 2022, showing that even coins that should provide more certainty may be at risk.

In the case of Bitcoin, the total supply gets cut in half through a process called , so it is calculated that it will reach its maximum supply of 21 million coins in the year 2140. Although Bitcoin’s issuance increases over time through mining and is therefore inflationary, block rewards are cut in half every four years, making it a deflationary cryptocurrency.

In the case of coins reserved for , for instance, they have already been minted. Still, they are locked up in the project’s protocol and are only distributed when the staker meets a particular condition.

It is possible to increase the total token supply, depending on the crypto protocol’s rules. With Bitcoin, for instance, unless there is maximum consensus to change the protocol, its total supply of 21 million coins can’t ever be changed. With other tokens, developers could potentially change a protocol’s supply rule by planning in advance a variable in .

This article first appeared in Cointelegraph, by

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cryptocurrency
proof-of-work (PoW)
proof-of-stake (PoS)
BTC
ETH
hard-capped like Bitcoin
fixed
blockchain
mining
burning
Bitcoin’s maximum supply
Stablecoins
Algorithmically-backed coins
the halving
staking rewards
the smart contract
Emi Lacapra