Total supply is the total number of units of a cryptoasset that exist according to the rules of a particular protocol or token at a given point in time.

The metric can include units that are not freely circulating, such as locked tokens, tokens held by contracts, or other units that are temporarily unavailable to users. The exact definition depends on the project and the methodology used by the data provider.

Total supply vs. circulating supply

Circulating supply generally represents the amount considered available to the market. Total supply is broader and can include tokens outside free circulation.

For example, if a project has created one billion tokens but part of that supply is locked, total supply may be greater than circulating supply.

Relationship to tokenomics

Total supply can change because of additional issuance or token burns. It should therefore be considered together with the asset’s issuance rules.