Definition
Circulating supply is the amount of a crypto asset treated as circulating rather than excluded as locked, reserved or otherwise unavailable under a data provider’s methodology. It is commonly used to calculate market capitalization. It differs from total supply and from a protocol’s maximum possible supply.
How It Is Calculated
A provider may begin with issued supply and subtract identified locked allocations, treasury holdings or other categories according to its rules. On-chain balances help, but determining control or effective availability can require interpretation. Different providers may report different values for the same asset if they classify allocations differently. Lost assets are particularly difficult to identify reliably.
Key Considerations
Circulating supply multiplied by a quoted price gives a market-capitalization estimate, not the cash invested in the asset or the value obtainable by selling every unit. Unlocks and changes in classification can affect the figure even without new issuance. Readers should check the reporting date, network scope and treatment of wrapped or bridged representations to avoid double counting the same economic exposure.