What is the difference between circulating supply, total supply and max supply?
In CoinMarketCap's definitions, max supply is the most tokens that can ever exist. Total supply is how many exist now, minus any burned. Circulating supply is the part available in the market, leaving out locked tokens.1,2 Data sites decide what counts as locked in their own ways, so they can show different numbers for the same token.3,4
What tokenomics means
CoinMarketCap, a crypto data site, describes tokenomics as the study of how a token's supply and demand are designed. That covers how many units exist, how many more will be created, who holds them, when those holdings unlock, and what the token is for.1 This module takes those questions one at a time.
It starts with supply. CoinMarketCap says the most common mistake is to treat "supply" as one number.1
The number in the contract
Module 12 showed that an ERC-20 token contract has a function called totalSupply. The standard says it "Returns the total token supply".5 It also says a contract that creates new tokens should record them as a transfer from the address 0x0.5
So the total is easy to read on the chain. Etherscan, a block explorer, shows a token's total supply "pulled from the source code".6 Deciding how much of it is really "in circulation" is harder.
Three numbers
CoinMarketCap tracks three supply figures.1
| Word | What it means, in CoinMarketCap's words |
|---|---|
| Max supply | The most coins that can ever be minted, minus any verifiably burned. Some tokens have one; many do not.2,1 |
| Total supply | The coins that exist right now, including locked and reserved ones, minus anything burned.7,1 |
| Circulating supply | The units available in the market now. It leaves out tokens that are locked, reserved or burned.1 |
To burn a token is to remove it for good, usually by sending it to an address nobody controls.8 Burned tokens drop out of all three numbers. CoinGecko, another data site, also leaves burned coins out of total supply.2,7,1,9
Bitcoin and ether
CoinMarketCap says Bitcoin's max supply is fixed at 21 million coins, and the last of them are expected around 2140.2,1 Module 3 shows where that limit comes from.
Ether has no fixed max supply.2 Lesson 5 shows how new ether is created and how some is burned.10
How CoinGecko counts "circulating"
CoinGecko says it gets circulating supply figures from token teams, and its own team then verifies them.3 If it can't verify a figure, it shows a "-" instead of a number.3
For tokens on smart-contract chains such as Ethereum, CoinGecko starts from the total supply and subtracts the locked tokens.3 Locked tokens may include a foundation's fund and the locked tokens of investors and the team. The token team tells CoinGecko which addresses hold them.3
Why sites can show different numbers
- What counts as locked. Circulating supply depends on which addresses a team says are locked, and on whether a site can check them.3
- Lost coins. CoinMarketCap says the network can't know how much supply is really in use. Coins can be sent to an address nobody can use, or their owner can lose access. It calls circulating supply "an imperfect approximation".4
- Which number counts as "all". On 7 October 2026, CoinMarketCap's data showed the Aptos token with a circulating supply of 871,331,815.51, a total supply of 1,209,772,014.39 and a max supply of 2,100,000,000.11
- Two answers to one question. So 72.02% of Aptos's total supply was circulating, but only 41.49% of its max supply. CoinMarketCap says to check which number a figure used before comparing it with anything.11
Circulating share = circulating supply ÷ max supply × 100. You can divide by total supply instead, but say which one you used.11
Example: 160,000,000 tokens circulating out of a max supply of 1,000,000,000 is 16%. The quizzes use this method.
- What Is Tokenomics? (what tokenomics means; supply is three numbers). CoinMarketCap Academy, updated 7 October 2026.
- Max Supply (glossary). CoinMarketCap Academy (read 22 October 2026).
- Methodology. CoinGecko (the live page asked for a browser check; read via the Wayback Machine copy of 8 October 2026).
- Circulating Supply (glossary). CoinMarketCap Academy (read 22 October 2026).
- ERC-20: Token Standard. Ethereum Improvement Proposals (Vogelsteller and Buterin), status Final, created 19 November 2015.
- Understanding the Token page. Etherscan Information Center, 25 March 2020.
- Total Supply (glossary). CoinMarketCap Academy (read 22 October 2026).
- What Is Tokenomics? (emissions, burns and staking). CoinMarketCap Academy, figures pulled by CoinMarketCap on 7 October 2026, updated 7 October 2026.
- What Is Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) In Crypto?. CoinGecko Learn (read via the Wayback Machine copy of 13 July 2026), updated 9 June 2025.
- How The Merge impacted ETH supply. ethereum.org (read again 24 October 2026), page last updated 6 June 2026.
- What Is Tokenomics? (which denominator the FDV uses). CoinMarketCap Academy, figures pulled by CoinMarketCap on 7 October 2026, updated 7 October 2026.
General education built from the publicly available sources listed above. Not financial, legal, tax or investment advice. Naming a company, project or regulator is not an endorsement either way. Last checked 2026-10-24. Terms and disclaimer.