The total amount of coins or tokens that currently exist, including both circulating and non-circulating supply.
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.
"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."
The total supply is calculated by adding:
The total supply excludes tokens that have been permanently removed from circulation through verifiable burning mechanisms.
"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."
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
"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."
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).
"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.