Annual Inflation Rate

This takes the gross daily issuance rate, scales it to a year, and expresses it as a percentage of circulating supply. It describes growth in the number of tokens and nothing else. The word inflation here is a supply term borrowed loosely from monetary economics; it does not measure changes in the price of goods, and it does not describe the purchasing power of the token.

How it is computed

(tokens created per day x 365) / circulating supply x 100

Where it misleads

It is routinely confused with price inflation, which it is not; a network can have high supply growth and rising prices at the same time, or the reverse. The denominator is the provider's circulating-supply estimate, so a reclassification of locked tokens moves the reported rate with no change in issuance behind it. For assets with cliff-style unlocks, a trailing measurement reads near zero in the month before a large release and then spikes, which makes the trailing figure a poor guide to the schedule ahead. It excludes burns entirely, so networks with significant burn mechanisms will show a gross rate well above the change in supply actually observed.

The equity comparison, and why it fails

Shareholder dilution from new share issuance. The analogy fails because dilution in equities requires board authorization, is disclosed in filings, and usually brings cash or services into the company, whereas token issuance is automatic under code, is disclosed nowhere in a regulated sense, and delivers value to validators, stakers, or vesting parties rather than to any entity.

Reading a high or a low value

A higher percentage means supply is growing faster relative to what already circulates; a lower percentage means slower growth. Read alongside the real inflation rate to see how much of the gross growth is offset by burns.