Circulating Supply
By Menno — 13 years in crypto, 3 bear markets survived, zero paid promotions
Last updated: March 2026
Circulating supply is the number of cryptocurrency tokens currently available and tradeable on the open market. It excludes locked, reserved, or not-yet-minted tokens. Market cap is calculated using circulating supply.
Circulating supply is the total number of tokens that are publicly available and can be traded. It excludes tokens that are: - Locked in vesting schedules (team, investor allocations) - Reserved for future development - Burned (permanently removed) - Not yet mined or created
Why it matters: - Market cap calculation: Market Cap = Price × Circulating Supply - Dilution risk: if circulating supply is 20% of total supply, there's significant future dilution coming - Price pressure: tokens unlocking from vesting contracts add to circulating supply, creating sell pressure
Circulating vs. total vs. max supply: - Circulating supply: tokens available today - Total supply: all tokens that exist (including locked) - Max supply: maximum tokens that will ever exist (Bitcoin: 21M, Ethereum: no hard cap)
A large gap between circulating and max supply is a warning sign. For example, if a token has 1B circulating supply but 10B max supply, early investors are holding onto a promise that has a 90% dilution ahead.
Always compare circulating supply to total supply when evaluating a token. The Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) = Price × Max Supply shows what the project is worth if all tokens were in circulation today.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I find a token's circulating supply?
CoinGecko and CoinMarketCap both display circulating supply prominently on each token's page. For more detailed tokenomics breakdowns including unlock schedules, check the project's documentation or tools like Token Unlocks (tokenunlocks.app).
Why does circulating supply change over time?
Circulating supply increases as: locked tokens vest and unlock, mining rewards are distributed, or staking rewards are emitted. It decreases when tokens are burned. Tracking these changes helps you anticipate future sell pressure.
Related Terms
Market Cap (Market Capitalization)
Market cap is the total value of a cryptocurrency calculated by multiplying the current price by the circulating supply. It's the most common metric for comparing the relative size of crypto projects.
Token Unlock
A token unlock is when previously locked tokens from a cryptocurrency project become available for trading, often increasing supply and creating sell pressure that can push prices down.
Tokenomics
Tokenomics is the economic design of a cryptocurrency — including total supply, distribution, emission schedule, burning mechanisms, and utility. Good tokenomics align incentives between the project and its investors.
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