Circulating supply is the number of tokens actually available to trade, excluding locked allocations, unvested team tokens, foundation reserves, and burned tokens. Only those tokens can be bought or sold, so this is the denominator for market cap. Total supply counts all existing tokens.
Maximum supply is the cap that will ever exist, 21 million for Bitcoin, and for Ethereum after the Merge there is no hard cap even though burns can make net issuance negative.
If 90% of tokens are locked and 50% release next month, sell pressure is coming regardless of today's tape. Unlock calendars belong in any thesis. Some projects use vesting and lock structures that keep tokens out of circulating counts while they still hit the market through derivatives or lending. Burns cut circulating supply. Emissions raise it.
Circulating versus maximum supply shows dilution ahead. A project with 10% circulating has 90% still to distribute. This matters because only circulating tokens can actually be bought or sold, making it the relevant denominator for market cap calculations.
Supply dynamics directly affect price: if 90% of tokens are locked and 50% access next month, massive sell pressure looms regardless of current market conditions. Circulating supply counts coins that can trade. Locked team tokens are usually excluded until they unlock.
Circulating Supply Breakdown
Explore how different token allocations affect circulating supply and market cap calculations. Only circulating tokens can be traded.