Crypto Inflation

Cryptocurrency Inflation Compared

Cryptocurrency	Inflation Rate	Circulating Supply	Max Supply
Bitcoin  (BTC)	0.88%	19.91M	21M
Ethereum  (ETH)	0.48%	120.71M	–
XRP  (XRP)	7.19%	59.42B	100B
BNB  (BNB)	–	139.29M	200M
Solana  (SOL)	20.14%	539.92M	–
Dogecoin  (DOGE)	4.21%	150.53B	–
Cardano  (ADA)	-0.23%	36.45B	45B
Tron  (TRX)	2.53%	94.68B	–
Chainlink  (LINK)	15.50%	678.1M	1B
Stellar  (XLM)	8.03%	31.3B	50B
Sui  (SUI)	–	3.51B	10B
Bitcoin Cash  (BCH)	1.02%	19.91M	21M
Hedera  (HBAR)	–	42.39B	50B
Avalanche  (AVAX)	7.47%	422.28M	720M
Litecoin  (LTC)	2.17%	76.19M	84M
Shiba Inu  (SHIB)	-0.0044%	589.25T	–
Uniswap  (UNI)	4.98%	600.48M	1B
Polkadot  (DOT)	62.78%	1.52B	–
NEAR Protocol  (NEAR)	15.53%	1.25B	–
Ondo  (ONDO)	–	3.16B	10B
Kaspa  (KAS)	11.91%	26.36B	28.7B
Algorand  (ALGO)	6.68%	8.71B	10B
Polygon (POL)  (POL)	–	9.08B	–
Cosmos  (ATOM)	17.84%	463.83M	–
Bonk  (BONK)	19.93%	77.42T	88T
Worldcoin  (WLD)	742.19%	1.88B	10B
ASI (Fetch.ai)  (FET)	-5.67%	2.6B	2.71B
Filecoin  (FIL)	22.89%	683.9M	1.96B
The Graph  (GRT)	9.66%	10.43B	10.8B
Tezos  (XTZ)	7.29%	1.05B	–
IOTA  (IOTA)	21.13%	3.96B	–
The Sandbox  (SAND)	13.57%	2.45B	3B
Decentraland  (MANA)	3.22%	1.92B	2.19B
Compound  (COMP)	12.89%	9.4M	10M
Axie Infinity  (AXS)	100.30%	166.37M	270M
Harmony  (ONE)	5.15%	14.68B	–

Cryptocurrency market data is updated every 15 minutes and is sourced from CoinGecko.

Why do cryptocurrencies have inflation?

Cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, are often viewed as a hedge against inflation. This belief is based on Bitcoin’s maximum supply of 21 million coins. Until this supply limit is reached, new Bitcoins are issued each year as rewards to miners for securing the network and validating transactions. The amount of new Bitcoins released is cut in half every four years through the so-called “halving.” This supply cap ensures that Bitcoin’s inflation rate gradually decreases over time.

Many other cryptocurrencies also have an annual inflation rate, determined by their circulating supply and how new coins are issued.

Cryptocurrencies with Low Inflation

Among others, the following cryptocurrencies have particularly low inflation rates of 5% per year or less:

• Bitcoin

• Ethereum

• BNB

• Cardano

• Dogecoin

• Litecoin

• Shiba Inu

• Uniswap

• Algorand

• Polygon

Cryptocurrencies with High Inflation

Among others, the following cryptocurrencies have particularly high inflation rates of 15% per year or more:

Inflation Using Bitcoin as an Example

In general, inflation is the process through which currencies lose value over time, causing prices for consumer goods to rise. One feature that has made cryptocurrencies—especially Bitcoin—so attractive to investors is the notion that they are more resistant to inflation than fiat currencies like the euro or the US dollar.

Bitcoin is considered inflation-resistant primarily because its maximum supply is permanently capped at 21 million by the protocol code, and the issuance of new bitcoins (as rewards to miners who secure the network and validate transactions) is automatically halved every four years. As a result, the maximum supply of 21 million bitcoins won’t be reached for decades. This periodic reduction in new supply is known as a “halving.”

What Does Coin Supply Mean in Cryptocurrencies?

Simply put, coin supply refers to the number of coins available. There are three main types of coin supply: Circulating Supply, Maximum Supply, and Total Supply.

Circulating Supply

Circulating supply represents the number of coins that are publicly available and actively circulating in the market. For Bitcoin, this is currently around 19 million coins. However, the true number in circulation is lower because some bitcoins have been lost through faulty transactions or have been held for years and thus aren’t practically available for trading.

Maximum Supply

Sticking with the Bitcoin example, we know that there will only ever be 21 million bitcoins. This limit is hard-coded into the blockchain protocol and cannot be changed. Maximum supply therefore refers to the absolute maximum number of coins that can ever exist. Not all cryptocurrencies have such a supply cap.

Total Supply

Total supply is the total number of coins that have been created so far, minus those that have been permanently removed from circulation. This can happen through so-called burning mechanisms, where a portion of the issued coins is intentionally destroyed to reduce the overall supply.

Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies as a Hedge Against Inflation

Cryptocurrencies—particularly Bitcoin—are often seen as a hedge against inflation because of their fixed supply limits. In theory, Bitcoin could serve as a “safe haven” during times of crisis or high inflation—a kind of “digital gold” with additional advantages.

In practice, however, Bitcoin still correlates strongly with traditional markets and broader macroeconomic trends and therefore doesn’t yet offer reliable protection against inflation in fiat currencies like the euro or the US dollar. Notably, there’s a significant correlation with risk assets like tech stocks. When markets decline, riskier investments—including Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies—are often sold off first.

However, this could change in the future. With long-term growth in the network, broader adoption, and increasing market capitalization, Bitcoin’s volatility could gradually decrease, potentially evolving into a more stable asset for storing value over time.