Circulating Supply vs Total Supply vs Maximum Supply
Why different supply numbers exist — and why market-data sites can disagree.
Concept explainer · about a 2-minute readMaximum supply is the ceiling, when one exists
Maximum supply describes the upper limit the token design allows. Not every cryptoasset has a fixed maximum.
Total supply is what exists under the chosen definition
Total supply generally describes tokens that have been created minus tokens considered destroyed, but exact reporting conventions can vary by chain and data provider.
Circulating supply tries to measure what is economically circulating
Providers may exclude locked, treasury, team or otherwise non-circulating balances. Deciding what counts can require off-chain assumptions, which is why two services may report different circulating figures.
Supply choice changes reported valuation
Market cap normally uses circulating supply, while fully diluted valuation often uses a broader or maximum supply. Always check which figure a site is multiplying by price.
Three numbers answering three different questions
Circulating supply tries to describe tokens currently available in the market. Total supply describes tokens that exist, usually excluding tokens that have been permanently destroyed, while maximum supply is a cap on how many could ever exist when the token design has one. Data providers can use different methods for classifying locked, treasury or otherwise restricted tokens, which is one reason two websites may disagree.
GRIFF makes the distinction easier to see
GRIFF was created with a supply of one billion tokens and its mint authority was disabled, so more GRIFF cannot simply be minted by the original authority. That is useful information, but it still does not mean every existing GRIFF is actively circulating in the market at every moment. Supply figures need context: where the tokens are, whether they are liquid, and how a data site defines “circulating” all matter.
GRIFF was created with a one-billion-token supply and mint authority was disabled. That makes the creation ceiling straightforward, but market-data services can still make their own decisions about what they label circulating.