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Glossary

Maximum Supply

Plain-language definition

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.

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