The supply is the supply of a cryptocurrency. Supply can be divided into circulating supply, total supply and maximum supply.
The circulating supply of a coin consists of all coins currently available on the market. Using the circulating supply, the market capitalization can be calculated. This is the total value of a specific cryptocurrency. If there are one million coins (circulating supply) of a particular cryptocurrency in circulation that are worth €3 each, then the market capitalization of this cryptocurrency is three million euros.
The total supply of a coin consists of all coins available on the market, and coins that are not yet available but are known when they will become available. This includes coins in vesting, for example. Vesting means that coins are locked for a certain amount of time. With a new token, a portion is often distributed to new investors. This happens in an initial coin offering (ICO). To prevent these investors from selling their share right away, it is agreed in advance that the tokens can be sold after a year, for example. This regulates the circulating supply to prevent price fluctuations.
The maximum supply of a coin is often predetermined. With Bitcoin, the maximum supply is 21 million BTC. In fact, there can never be more than 21 million bitcoins. Not every cryptocurrency has a maximum supply. In theory, for example, there can exist unlimited ETH. This is because the supply of Ether grows as new blocks are generated. Ethereum does ensure that the supply is regulated. In fact, with every transaction, some ETH is destroyed.
