In Bitcoin, 21 million coins are created and are waiting to be mined through a process called 'Proof-of-Work'. About 17 million Bitcoins have already been mined today and there will only ever be a maximum of 21 million Bitcoins in existence.
Ethereum? No maximum but the supply of new Ether is limited to 18 million coins per year.
STEEM? No maximum too and the supply of new STEEM is limited to 9.5% inflation a year; of which this rate deflates roughly 0.5% each year.
I used to think that Bitcoin's approach to set a fixed maximum token supply was the only way to make a cryptocurrency valuable. Although it is more straightforward, I am learning there are more ways to skin a cat and create demand through scarcity.
| Crypto Currency | Initial Token Supply | Current Circulating Supply | Total Token Supply | Maximum Token Supply |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin | 0 | 17 million Bitcoins | 17 million Bitcoins | 21 million Bitcoins |
| Ethereum | 72 million Ether | 99 million Ether | 99 million Ether | No Cap |
| STEEM | 258 million STEEM | 258 million STEEM | 275 million STEEM | No Cap |
| Power Ledger | 1 billion PWR | 373 million PWR | 1 billion PWR | 1 billion PWR |
| wepower | 745 million WPR | 446 million WPR | 745 million WPR | 745 million WPR |
| SolarCoin | 100 billion SLR | 42 million SLR | 98 billion SLR | 100 billion SLR |
The maximum supply of various tokens within my radar
Factors to Consider
1. Circulating supply
This is the total amount of tokens out there being traded at exchanges or used in the market. This excludes tokens that are being locked in smart contracts and are only released at scheduled intervals (usually applies to company founders or private sale token holders).
The token price, at any given time, is determined by the market demand and the circulating supply.
Should there be a sudden increase in the circulating supply, such as founders releasing a large amount of their held tokens for sale (sign of a possible dump), this can lead to a dramatic drop in the token price.
From the table above, all Bitcoin & Ethereum that is mined goes immediately into circulation. There is no difference between the circulating supply and total supply.
As for Power Ledger and wepower, there are large differences between their total supply and circulating supply. Their tokens are pre-mined and pre-allocated according to their whitepapers.
I find STEEM the most interesting.
STEEM began with an initial supply of 258 million tokens and it appears these initial amounts are all in circulation. The supply of new STEEM grows at 9.5% each year yet the circulation supply remains at 258 million tokens - similar to the initial quantity - even after two years since launch.
Is this an indication that ALMOST EVERYONE is choosing to voluntarily lock up the new STEEM that they earn for the long term?
This is rare, in my opinion.
2. Psychology of coin price
I don't like it.
I don't approve of it.
But I accept the reality of the situation.
We are wired to look at prices.
A cryptocurrency that hits $1, for example, is sort of a psychological milestone.
The same could be observed with Bitcoin when it hit $1,000, $10,000, and recently, $20,000 back in December 2017.
The key takeaway is that people need benchmarks. When a cryptocurrency climbs past a certain milestone, say from $0.03 to $1.00 and it goes on to stay above $10.00 for a considerable amount of time, this may lead people to adjust and accept the value of the cryptocurrency is at least $1.00.
This is not a certainty though, just human psychology.
With this in mind, I shall not set our maximum token supply too high e.g. 100 billion tokens; which some cryptocurrencies do. The token supply must be realistic, somewhat challenging yet achievable.
3. Practical
Since publishing the whitepaper on Wednesday, I started to visualize deeper and imagine how the EMPOWER token could be used in TEN years time.
I imagine:
1 EMP = $10,000 = You can build a rooftop solar energy system for one house
100 EMP = You can empower 100 homes to be solar powered and gain further cryptocurrency rewards for their electricity generation
Final Thoughts
I have not decided what should be the maximum token supply yet for EMPOWER.
What do you think?
Should we...
- Set a fixed maximum supply like Bitcoin?
- Set the yearly maximum of new tokens like Ethereum?
- Grow the rewards every year using a deflationary inflation rate like STEEM?
What I have decided however, thanks to 
Who knows, universe be willing, should this project be successful as plan, these 100 tokens may mean you can empower 100 homes tomorrow!
Buzz
Hi, my name is Jason aka @buzz.lightyear. I envision a future where renewable energy is our main source of electricity in this lifetime; reducing the largest contributor of carbon emissions by 90% and bringing our global temperatures back to its natural balance.
I believe that this is no easy task but it is achievable with your support.
I am developing an open blockchain that incentivises both producers and consumers of renewable energy and am looking to collaborate with brilliant minds who share this vision so that we can create a future where it just makes sense to go 100% renewable, visit your local store, buy some latest tech and generate energy for your own use and for others.