How it works
Max supply is defined in a project’s code or whitepaper. For mined coins like Bitcoin, the issuance schedule asymptotes toward the cap. For pre-minted tokens, the entire max supply is created at launch and gradually unlocked from team and treasury wallets. Inflationary coins (no max supply) issue new tokens forever, usually as block rewards or staking issuance.
Example
Bitcoin: 21 million BTC max supply, reached around 2140. Ethereum: no hard max supply, but post-merge burn mechanism makes it deflationary in high-activity periods. Solana: no fixed max but a clear inflation schedule starting at 8 percent and decreasing 15 percent annually toward a 1.5 percent floor. Dogecoin: no max supply, fixed 5 billion DOGE issued per year.
Why it matters
Max supply is the cleanest signal of a coin’s long-term monetary policy. A fixed cap creates scarcity-driven price models (stock-to-flow style). An uncapped supply with positive issuance means holders are diluted unless network usage burns more than issues. Compare fully diluted market cap to circulating market cap: a large gap warns of dilution as the rest of the supply unlocks or gets mined.
