Choosing Total Supply and Decimals for Your Token
Two of the first decisions you'll make when creating a token are its total supply and decimals. They sound technical, but the choices are mostly about branding and compatibility. This guide explains what each one means and how to pick sensible values.
What is total supply?
Total supply is simply how many tokens will exist. With a fixed-supply token, the entire amount is minted to your wallet at creation and that number never changes (unless tokens are burned). There is no technically "correct" supply — it's a decision about how you want your token to feel and how you plan to distribute it.
Common supply choices
| Supply | Feel / typical use |
|---|---|
| 1,000,000 (1M) | Premium, scarce feel; utility and governance tokens. |
| 100,000,000 (100M) | Balanced; common for project tokens. |
| 1,000,000,000 (1B) | Very common all-rounder. |
| 1,000,000,000,000 (1T) | Meme coins; makes per-token price look tiny. |
Supply is psychology, not value
A crucial concept: total supply does not determine your token's total value. What matters is market capitalization (price × supply). A project worth $1,000,000 could be 1 million tokens at $1 each, or 1 billion tokens at $0.001 each — identical total value. Many new buyers irrationally prefer a low per-token price ("it's only $0.0001, it could 100x!"), which is why meme coins often choose enormous supplies. Choose a supply that fits the story you want to tell, but don't believe a large supply makes your token worth more.
What are decimals?
Decimals define how divisible each token is. ERC-20 balances are stored as whole numbers internally, and the decimals value tells wallets where to display the decimal point. With 18 decimals, "1 token" is stored on-chain as 1 followed by 18 zeros. This lets users send tiny fractions (like 0.000001 tokens) smoothly.
Why 18 is the default
The ERC-20 standard and ETH itself both use 18 decimals, so 18 is the safe, universal choice. Every wallet, DEX and aggregator expects it, and using it avoids edge cases. Some specialised tokens use other values:
- 6 decimals — used by some stablecoins (e.g. USDC) to mirror dollars and cents at scale.
- 8 decimals — mirrors Bitcoin's smallest unit (the "satoshi"), occasionally used for BTC-themed tokens.
- 18 decimals — the default for everything else, and what you should use unless you have a specific reason.
How supply and decimals work together
When you enter a supply, the tool multiplies it by 10 to the power of your decimals to compute the raw on-chain amount. You just type the human-readable number (e.g. 1,000,000,000) and pick decimals (e.g. 18); the math happens automatically. You don't need to calculate anything by hand.
Planning distribution
Because the full supply lands in your wallet, decide in advance how it will be split. A typical breakdown might allocate portions to liquidity, community/airdrops, team (ideally vested), and a treasury. Thinking this through before launch keeps your tokenomics clean and credible — see our tokenomics basics guide for a framework.
Conclusion
For most projects the answer is simple: pick a round, memorable total supply that fits your brand, and leave decimals at 18. Remember that supply affects per-token price perception, not real value, and plan your distribution before you deploy. With those decisions made, you're ready to create your token.
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