Maximum Supply
- Maximum supply is the hard cap on how many units of a cryptocurrency can ever exist, written into the network's rules, after which the protocol creates no new coins.
- It differs from total supply, which is all coins that exist now minus any burned, and from circulating supply, the portion actually trading.
- A capped supply makes an asset scarce and its issuance predictable, while some assets have no cap at all and issue new units indefinitely, making them inflationary by design.
Maximum supply is the hard cap on how many units of a cryptocurrency can ever exist. Once that ceiling is reached, no new coins are created by the protocol.
How it works
The cap is written into the network’s rules. Maximum supply differs from total supply (all coins that exist now, minus any burned) and from circulating supply (the portion actually trading). Some assets have a fixed maximum supply; others have no cap at all and issue new units indefinitely, which makes them inflationary by design.
Why it matters
A capped supply makes an asset scarce and its issuance predictable, a property often compared to precious metals. The gap between circulating and maximum supply also signals how much future issuance could enter the market, which matters for understanding a project’s tokenomics.
Example
Bitcoin’s maximum supply is 21 million coins; many other networks set their own caps, while some set none.
What is the difference between maximum, total, and circulating supply?
Why does a maximum supply matter?
Do all cryptocurrencies have a maximum supply?
Other glossary terms connected to this one.
Go deeper than the definition — explainers, live data and free calculators.