Circulating Supply
- Circulating supply counts only the coins that are publicly available and actively trading — it excludes locked, reserved, or unreleased tokens.
- It is the figure used to calculate market capitalization (price times circulating supply), so it directly shapes how large an asset appears.
- A low circulating supply relative to maximum supply can signal future "unlock" or inflation pressure as more tokens are released.
Circulating supply is the number of coins or tokens that are publicly available and actively trading. It excludes tokens that are locked, reserved, or not yet released, and it is the figure used to calculate market capitalization.
How it works
Circulating supply sits between two other measures. Total supply counts all tokens that currently exist minus any that have been verifiably burned. Maximum supply is the hard cap that will ever exist, if one is defined. Circulating supply can grow over time as locked or unminted tokens are released through emissions, staking rewards or vesting schedules.
Why it matters
Because market cap depends on it, the circulating supply figure directly shapes how large an asset appears. Tokens with a small circulating supply but a large total supply can face future “unlock” pressure as more tokens enter the market, which is an important part of reading a project’s tokenomics.
Example
Bitcoin’s circulating supply rises slowly toward its fixed maximum of 21 million as miners receive block rewards.
| Metric | What it counts | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| Circulating | Coins public and trading now | Market cap |
| Total | All that exist, minus burned | Issuance view |
| Maximum | Hard cap that can ever exist | FDV / dilution |
How is circulating supply different from total supply?
Why does circulating supply change over time?
Where does the circulating supply data on this page come from?
Other glossary terms connected to this one.
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