About the Token Inflation Calculator
This token inflation calculator projects how a cryptocurrency’s supply will change over the coming years and what that means for your share of the network. Enter today’s circulating supply, the yearly emission (either a fixed number of tokens or a percentage of supply), any tokens burned each year and an optional maximum supply, and it shows the supply year by year, the net inflation rate, total tokens minted and burned, and how much your ownership is diluted.
Emissions — staking rewards, liquidity mining incentives, validator rewards or treasury releases — add sellable supply, while burns such as fee burns or buy-and-burn programmes remove it. The balance between them drives long-term price pressure. Enter a staking yield to see whether staking your tokens keeps up with inflation, which is what really determines whether rewards are a real return or just protection against dilution.
Emission schedules change through governance and many follow halvings or decaying curves, so use the current published rate and re-run the projection when it changes. For tokens with large locked allocations, combine this with a vesting schedule, since unlocks increase circulating supply without new minting.
With the default inputs, the supply at end of period is 700,000,000 tokens. Change any value above to recalculate instantly.
How to use the token inflation calculator
- 1Enter the current circulating supply.
- 2Choose a fixed yearly emission or a percentage rate and enter it.
- 3Add tokens burned per year and a maximum supply if the token is capped.
- 4Enter your holdings and staking yield to measure dilution.
- 5Read the final supply and inflation, then review the year-by-year table.
Formula and method
Each year the supply grows by the emission — a fixed number of tokens, or a percentage of the current supply that compounds — and shrinks by the tokens burned. If a maximum supply is set, minting stops once supply reaches the cap. Net inflation for a year is the change in supply divided by the supply at the start of that year.
Dilution is the fall in an unchanged holding’s share of the network: 1 − S₀ ÷ Sₙ. If you stake, your holdings compound at the staking yield, and the real yield (1 + staking yield) ÷ (1 + inflation) − 1 shows whether staking actually increases your share. Price effects depend on demand and are not modelled.
- S(t)
- Supply at the start of year t
- E(t)
- Tokens emitted in year t
- B
- Tokens burned per year
- r
- Percentage emission rate
Worked examples
50M tokens a year, 10M burned, 1B cap
Net 40M new tokens a year takes supply from 500M to 700M in five years — 8% inflation in year one, easing to about 6.1% by year five, an average of 6.96%. An unstaked holding of 100,000 tokens falls from 0.02% to 0.0143% of supply, a 28.6% dilution.
2% compounding emission with burns, no cap
Emitting 2% of supply each year while burning 1M tokens grows supply from 120M to about 135.3M over ten years, an average net inflation of 1.21%. Staking at 3% grows 10 tokens to 13.44 and beats inflation by about 1.77% a year in real terms.
Emissions that hit the supply cap
Starting at 900M with 50M emitted a year and a 1B cap, supply reaches 950M after year one (5.56% inflation) and the cap in year two. No more tokens are minted after that.
Frequently asked questions
What is token inflation?+
Token inflation is the rate at which a cryptocurrency’s circulating supply increases, usually from staking rewards, mining or liquidity incentives. Net inflation subtracts tokens burned. A 5% net inflation rate means each token represents 5% less of the network after a year.
Does token inflation lower the price?+
Not automatically, but it adds supply that recipients may sell. For the price to stay flat, demand (market cap) must grow at the same rate as supply. That is why investors compare inflation with the protocol’s revenue and adoption growth.
Do staking rewards protect against inflation?+
Partly. Staking rewards are often paid from new emissions, so stakers keep or grow their share while non-stakers are diluted. Your real yield is roughly the staking yield minus the inflation rate; if it is negative, staking is only slowing your dilution.
What is the difference between emissions and unlocks?+
Emissions mint new tokens, increasing total supply. Unlocks release tokens that already exist but were locked for teams or investors, increasing circulating supply without changing total supply. Both add sell pressure, so consider both.
How do token burns work?+
A burn sends tokens to an address no one controls, removing them permanently. Some networks burn part of every transaction fee; others buy tokens back with revenue and burn them. When burns exceed emissions, supply shrinks and the token is deflationary.
Results are estimates for educational purposes and are not financial advice. Rates, fees and terms vary — confirm with your lender or a licensed advisor before making decisions.