Circulating Supply

Market capitalization — the standard headline size metric for any crypto asset — is calculated by multiplying price by circulating supply. This makes circulating supply one of the most important numbers in a coin's data profile. It is distinct from total supply (all coins ever created, including locked or reserved ones) and maximum supply (the hard cap coded into the protocol, if one exists — Bitcoin's is 21 million). Only circulating supply represents coins that can actually be bought or sold today. See crypto market cap explained for how these feed into valuations.

Supply schedules vary by design. Bitcoin's new supply is released through mining at a rate that halves roughly every four years — an event called the halving — gradually pushing circulating supply toward its maximum. Other projects release large portions of supply to founders or investors that are vested (locked and released over time), meaning circulating supply can jump significantly on a vesting date even if no new coins were mined. Traders typically track vesting calendars because a sudden increase in circulating supply can affect price by changing the ratio of available coins to demand.

A common confusion is comparing two assets by price per coin without accounting for supply. Suppose coin A trades at $1 with 10 billion coins circulating, and coin B trades at $500 with 1 million coins circulating — coin B has the smaller market cap despite its higher unit price. Price per coin alone is meaningless without the supply figure. For more on reading crypto data correctly, see altcoins and tokens and how to read percentage moves.