The Sweet Adventure of Crypto Tokens: A Fun-Filled Guide to Understanding Circulating, Maximum, and Total Supplies!

Donatello Investing
3 min readFeb 9, 2023

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Hey kiddo! Are you ready to learn about crypto tokens and all the supplies that come with them? I promise it’s going to be a wild ride filled with humor, adventure and of course, a lot of learning!

Let’s start with the basics. What is a crypto token supply? It’s like a secret stash of sweets that you have hidden from your parents, but instead of sweets, we have cryptocurrency coins. And the crypto token supply is all about the number of coins that exist at a certain time. It can be the circulating supply, maximum supply, or total supply. It’s important because it helps us determine how the tokens are distributed, how much demand there is for them and how much they are worth in the market.

Just like you can’t keep eating sweets endlessly, most cryptocurrencies also have a set limit on the number of tokens that can be created. This is different from regular currencies that central banks can print as they please. Cryptocurrencies can either be mined, like the proof-of-work (PoW) coins, or minted, like proof-of-stake (PoS) coins, over a period of time. Some cryptocurrencies, like Bitcoin (BTC), have a limited supply and will only ever have 21 million coins, but others, like Ether (ETH), have a maximum supply that isn’t fixed.

Now, let’s talk about the circulating supply. It’s like the number of sweets you have in your hand that you can eat right now. The circulating supply is the number of tokens that are in the market and available for trade at a given time. This helps us calculate the market capitalization of a cryptocurrency, which is like the total worth of all the sweets you have. But wait, there’s a catch! Just like some sweets may have gotten lost or taken away by your parents, there may be coins in the blockchain that haven’t moved in a while. To account for these, we have another metric called the realized market cap, which only considers the price of a coin when it was last moved.

Moving on to the maximum supply, it’s like the maximum number of sweets you can have in your lifetime. The maximum supply is the total number of tokens that will ever be mined or created. For example, Bitcoin has a maximum supply of 21 million, and that’s it. No more can be created. On the other hand, stablecoins like Tether keep their maximum supply constant to avoid fluctuations in their price. However, it’s important to keep in mind that even stablecoins can be vulnerable to de-pegging risks.

Finally, the total supply is like the total number of sweets you have ever had, including the ones you have eaten, lost or have locked away for later. The total supply is calculated by adding the circulating supply to the number of coins that have been mined but not yet released in the market. This could include coins reserved for staking rewards or coins that have been minted but are locked away until a certain condition is met.

And that’s it, folks! You now know all about crypto token supplies and how they impact the market. Just remember, the crypto world is a lot like a big bag of sweets — there’s always something new and exciting to discover!

The information provided in this medium post is for entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as financial advice. The author of this post is not a financial advisor and any investments discussed in this post may come with significant risks. It is important to conduct your own research and seek professional advice before making any investment decisions.

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Donatello Investing

As a crypto enthusiast, I have a passion for technology and finance. My focus is on educating others and sharing my knowledge and insights on the subjects.