Term

Total Supply

The total amount of coins or tokens that currently exist, including both circulating and non-circulating supply.

Type:
tokenomics
metrics
1
concept

Total supply refers to the complete amount of coins or tokens that currently exist for a cryptocurrency, including both circulating supply (available for trading) and non-circulating supply (locked, reserved, or otherwise not available for trading). It represents all coins that have been created, minus any that have been verifiably burned.

Example 1.1

"Ripple (XRP) has a total supply of 100 billion tokens, though not all of these are currently in circulation as Ripple Labs holds a significant portion in escrow for scheduled releases."

2
calculation

The total supply is calculated by adding:

  1. All tokens currently in circulation
  2. Locked tokens (founder/team allocations, vesting schedules)
  3. Reserved tokens (treasury, ecosystem funds)
  4. Escrowed tokens (scheduled future distributions)

The total supply excludes tokens that have been permanently removed from circulation through verifiable burning mechanisms.

Example 2.1

"While Binance Coin (BNB) started with a total supply of 200 million tokens, regular token burns have permanently reduced this number, with the goal of eventually burning 50% of the total supply."

3
importance

Total supply is an important metric for understanding a cryptocurrency's tokenomics and potential value. It helps investors assess:

Dilution Risk: How many non-circulating tokens might eventually enter the market Token Distribution: How tokens are allocated among different stakeholders Scarcity: How rare or abundant the token is by design Inflation Schedule: How the supply changes over time

Example 3.1

"Investors concerned about potential dilution should compare a token's circulating supply to its total supply. A token with 100 million circulating but 1 billion total supply may face significant selling pressure as the remaining 900 million tokens enter circulation."

4
comparison

Total supply differs from other important supply metrics:

Circulating Supply: Only includes tokens actively available for trading Maximum Supply: The absolute maximum number of tokens that will ever exist (if capped) Fully Diluted Market Cap: Market cap calculated using total or maximum supply instead of circulating supply

Some cryptocurrencies have no maximum supply cap (like Ethereum pre-2.0), while others have a fixed maximum (like Bitcoin's 21 million).

Example 4.1

"Bitcoin's current total supply is over 19 million BTC, which is approaching its maximum supply cap of 21 million. In contrast, Dogecoin has a current total supply of over 130 billion DOGE with no maximum cap, adding approximately 5 billion new coins each year."

All terms and definitions may update as the Cryptionary improves.