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2021 Q3 Free floating supply of crypto assets: Bitcoin drops by 55,000, Ethereum net growth turns negative for the first time

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The largest contributor to free float value growth in q3 2021 was FTX ($1.6 billion)

Free floating Supply of Crypto assets in Q3 2021: Bitcoin drops by 55,000, Ethereum Net Growth Turns Negative for the first time

原文来源：Coin Metrics

The Tao of the meta-universe

As defined by the CMBI float adjustment methodology, the supply transparency report makes clear the behaviour of key classes of crypto asset holders deemed to be limiting market supply.

The current range of crypto assets covered in this report, which reflects the free-floating Supply managed by Coin Metrics, includes: 0X, Aave, Balancer, Basic Attention Token, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin SV, Cardano, Compound, Chainlink, Crypto.com Coin, Curve, DASH, Decred, Digibyte, Dogecoin, Ethereum, FTX Token, Huobi Token, Litecoin, MakerDAO, NEO, Stellar, Uniswap, XRP, Yearn and Zcash.

Note that for all the monthly and quarterly dollar values in this article, the approximate quarterly total value can be calculated by multiplying the net supply increased or decreased each day by the Coin Metrics end-of-day (00:00 UTC) reference rate for that particular date.

In the third quarter of 2021, the assets included in this report added a net value of $1.9 billion to the cryptocurrency market, a significant decrease from the $10.5 billion added in the second quarter. The main reasons for this decline are:

During the quarter, $2.1 billion of bitcoins were removed from circulation because some addresses were more than five years old.

$2.1 billion worth of Ethereum was removed from the circulation supply, mainly due to tokens flowing out in the previous quarter being returned to team-controlled addresses.

In general, the average price of assets in the third quarter was lower relative to the second quarter, reflecting the lower dollar value of the same number of assets sold.

The largest contributors to free float value growth in q3 2021 were FTX ($1.6 billion), Cardano ($1.5 billion), XRP ($876 million) and Chainlink ($452 million).

The largest contractors in free float value in q3 were Ethereum (-$2.1 billion), Bitcoin (-$2.1 billion) and Huobi Token (-$74 million).

Curve (969 percent), Compound (183 percent), Balancer (131 percent), and FTX Coin (60 percent) were the crypto assets with the highest free-floating annual inflation (in native units) last year. Crypto.com Coin (-24%) 2, Huobi Token (-21%) and Bitcoin (1.2%) had the lowest annual inflation rates over the same period.

Note 1: Compound launched in March 2020, Balancer in July 2020, Curve in August 2020, all had low initial float and liquidity mining plans, which led to their early high inflation.

Note 2: Crypto.com destroyed 59.6 billion CRO and 5 billion CRO, respectively, in February and April 2010, from addresses controlled by the Foundation.

In the third quarter of this year, the net value of crypto assets transferred outside the established foundation/company control address was $4.7 billion, up from $3.5 billion in the previous quarter.The two largest sources of movement in foundation tokens this quarter can be attributed to:

- FTX Foundation trades $1.6 billion from fund-controlled addresses to more liquid ones

- Similarly, the Cardano Foundation traded $1.6 billion from their address to a more liquid one

Pay attention to: Companies/foundations sell assets for a number of reasons, including but not limited to operating expenses, team member/advisor attribution, strategic long term partner /BD, planned and unplanned token destruction, strategic investments and fund management. Companies/foundations may also behave differently, either choosing to issue infrequently in large quantities or as needed. In addition, the transfer of assets from a foundation/corporation-controlled address does not necessarily mean that the assets have been sold (e.g. allocated to team members, destroyed, strategic placement, community incentive programs, etc.).

Note: In February 2021, the Crypto.com Foundation burned $13.3 billion worth of CRO. In April, the Crypto.com Foundation burned $1.2 billion worth of CRO.

In the third quarter of 2021, the net value of crypto assets moved outside the established corporate team addresses declined significantly, to between $650 million and $3 billion. In the third quarter,Of its assetsFree - floating supply changes contributed the mostThe team members are:

- Ethereum: $670 million worth of Ethereum (approximately 332,000 ETH) went to the closed team address and was therefore removed from the free flux supply.

- Chainlink: An additional 19.5 million links to a more liquid market, worth $450 million.

Note: Movement of team control addresses does not necessarily mean that an asset has been sold, but can indicate activity (for example, moving to a passive revenue generation tool such as Compound).

Summary of changes in free flux

0 x (ZRX)

In the third quarter of 2021, the total number of ZRX transfers from foundation-owned addresses was 9.5 million, down 24 million from the previous quarter. It is worth noting that in the second quarter, 21 million ZRX was deposited into ZRX vaults, so it may just be that the foundation uses their Treasury assets to make it productive. Since the tokens in the vault earn interest, perform governance functions and are indistinguishable from each other, they are considered active and therefore more liquid than passively held assets.

Of the 9.5 million ZRX that entered free circulation in the third quarter, all belong to team members. That's down from the previous quarter (16.9 million), but still a big increase from the fourth quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2021, when a total of 4.2 million tokens were moved from team member addresses.

AAVE (AAVE)

Launched only in the fourth quarter of last year, Aave has a limited free circulation history. At the end of the third quarter, aave-owned addresses still managed fewer than 3 million Aaves. Of these, about 500,000 are still under migration contracts and have not been claimed by token LEND holders prior to Aave. AAVE also launched their liquidity mining in the second quarter, which resulted in an increase in the discharge rate of AAVE DAO, which now holds approximately 2.4 million AAVE. During the third quarter, AAVE's free circulation increased by 361,000.

The Balancer (BAL)

Balancer released 1.885 million BAL tokens through their liquidity mining program, the same number as in the previous three quarters. The number of BAL released from the Balancer Fund into more liquid markets increased to approximately 1 million BAL in the third quarter. Due to relatively few shifts from team-owned addresses to more liquid markets (5,000bal tokens), the net change in free float to 3Q2021 was 2.9 million.

Basic Attention Token (BAT)

For the entire third quarter of 2021, the quarterly increase in free circulation of Basic Attention tokens was the lowest in the past year. Only 5.5 million new BATS entered circulation in the third quarter, down from 11.2 million in the second quarter and 47.2 million in the first. Most of the decrease came from reduced activity in funds-controlled wallets, the most active being "BAT: UPG Reserve", which had only 6.4 million BAT net inflows (3.6 million BAT outflows and 10 million BAT inflows from another funds-managed address).

Confirmed team address transactions added 2.5 million BAT free float in the third quarter.

Bitcoin (BTC)

856,000 new bitcoins were issued in mining activity in the third quarter of 2021, meaning a return to the level before the hash rate crash, which slowed block production times in the second quarter after Chinese mining restrictions took effect.

Bitcoin experienced its biggest quarterly gain for long-term holders (those who have not sent a transaction in more than five years) in the third quarter, adding 140,000 bitcoins and removing them from the free-floating supply. This resulted in a reduction of 55,000 BTCS in net free circulation during the quarter.

Bitcoin Cash (BCH)

The free circulation of Bitcoin cash increased by approximately 173,000 BCH in the third quarter, a slight increase from the previous quarter. While mining emissions in the third quarter were in line with previous quarters, only 90,500 BCH of the first tokens activated since Bitcoin Cash forked from Bitcoin entered the free-floating supply, up from about 50,000 in the second quarter.

Bitcoin Gold (BTG)

The free circulation of bitcoin gold increased by 181,000 BTG in the third quarter of 2021, up slightly from about 160,000 BTG in the previous two quarters. The increase in BTG (81,000) from mining activity was in line with issuance in previous quarters, given the stable release schedule. However, bitcoin gold free circulation, activated for the first time since the BTG fork, increased by 98,000 BTG, resulting in a net increase of 157,000 BTG in free circulation for the quarter.

Bitcoin SV (BSV)

In the third quarter, the free floating supply of Bitcoin SV increased by 128,000 BSV, down significantly from the first quarter of 2021 (498,000 BSV) and the second quarter of 2021 (182,000 BSV). While new issuance of Bitcoin SV for mining-related activity was consistent with previous quarters, only 46,000 BSV were activated for the first time since the BSV fork, the lowest quarterly increase in activated supply since q3 2020. As a result, net free circulation increased by 128,000 BSV during the quarter.

Cardano (ADA)

Cardano's free float added 907 million ADA in the third quarter of 2021, a significant increase from the second quarter but below the record free float supply in the first quarter (up 1.4 billion ADA). Much of the quarter's increase was the result of ADA moving from foundation-controlled addresses into more liquid markets (690 million). Another 208 million comes from the free flux of equity certificate emissions.

Chainlink (LINK)

Chainlink's increase in free circulation supply was consistent with 19.5 million LINK values in q2, once again the largest quarterly increase of its kind since Q3 2019. The entire increase in the supply of free circulation can be attributed to transactions from team-determined addresses.

Compound (COMP)

During the third quarter, 666,000 comps were added to the free-floating supply after a number of issues released unexpected funds from foundation wallets into more liquid markets. Of the total, 546,000 came from addresses controlled by the foundation.

Crypto.com Token (CRO)

In the third quarter of 2021, Crypto.com had its quietest monthly foundation and team address event ever. Foundation addresses have no activity and only a relatively small number of CROs trade from team-controlled addresses. The net effect of all these changes was a reduction of 340.2 million in the free-floating supply of CRO.

The Curve (CRV)

The free flux of Curve increased by 126 million. That was down from the second quarter (173 million), but the increase was in line with previous quarterly changes (Q1 2021 and Q4 2020). Curve is a relatively new protocol that was launched in August 2020 and has a predefined token offering rate that will continue at a similar pace in the coming quarters. Much of the increase in free-floating offerings came from the increase in tokens issued to liquid markets from foundation-controlled addresses, as well as the release of team-controlled CRVS.

The DASH (DASH)

Issuance of DASH from mining-related activities in the third quarter was 149,000 DASH, consistent with previous quarters after adjusting for inflation of ~6.0% in q3 2020. During the quarter, 13,000 DASH were identified as inactive for more than five years, long-term strategic investors or out of supply. The net result of these two factors was an increase of 137,000 in DASH's free-floating supply during the quarter.

Decred (DCR)

Decred added 300,000 DCR to its free circulation supply in the third quarter, roughly in line with the increase in the second quarter (289,000). Most of the increase was due to the addition of 319,000 DCR to the total on-chain supply of mining activities during the quarter due to aging (& GT; 5 years) and base accumulation, 37,000 DCR removed from supply.

Digibyte (DGB)

Digibyte's free-floating supply increased by 257 million DGB in q3, a slight increase from the second quarter (252 million). Inflation related to Digibyte mining continued to decrease each quarter, increasing by 267 million in the current quarter, down from 272 million in the second quarter and 279 million in the first quarter. Another 10 million DGB were removed from free circulation this quarter because they had not been active in addresses for more than 5 years. According to the free float methodology, these coins are classified as likely strategic long-term holders or lost, and thus do not contribute to the liquid market (and free float).

Dogecoin (DOGE)

Dogecoin's free float growth rate slowed in the third quarter, with only 1.29 billion tokens added to the free float supply, of which 1.26 billion were from mining-related activities. The additional increase in the supply of free circulation comes from long-term holders (& GT; 5 years without sending a trade) net reduction in the amount of DOGE held.

Ether (ETH)

Ethereum's free circulation declined for the first quarter ever, with a net loss of 754,000. The main contributor to this is 1.26 million ETH, located in addresses that have not sent a single transaction for more than five years.

In addition, the reduction in free circulation was also caused by the activation of IP-1559, which resulted in the burning of approximately 400,000 ETH this season. ETH minted from mining-related activities still led to an increase in supply, unchanged from previous quarters (1.2 million).

FTX Token (FTT)

During the third quarter, the supply of FTX tokens in free circulation increased significantly as 35 million FTTS moved from foundation-controlled addresses to FTX exchanges. In addition, given FTT's positive price performance, fewer FTT (1.3 million) were burned (sent to 0x000 address) during the quarter (FTX has committed to regular burns, which is relative to its exchange revenue. If FTT prices grow faster than revenue, this will result in fewer FTTS being burned.)

Huobi Token (HT)

Huobi Token remains one of the most stable deflationary assets in the crypto market, with free float supply shrinking every quarter so far in 2020 and 2021. In the third quarter, HT free floating supply fell by 6.1 million. This includes:

- Huobin continues the on-chain destruction of HT, heading for 0x000... 000 address sent tokens, this address received 8.8 million HT during the quarter.

- Huobi Foundation traded 2.7 million HTS from foundation-owned addresses to more liquid markets.

Litecoin (LTC)

During the third quarter, litecoin's free-floating supply increased by 584,000 LTC, which was largely in line with the prior quarterly increase. While new supply for mining-related activities remained relatively stable, adding 672,000 LTCS in the third quarter, net LTC growth (88,000) at addresses that had been dormant for more than five years removed some liquidity from the market.

MakerDAO (MKR)

MakerDAO's free circulation increased again in the third quarter of 2021 with an additional 63,000 MKR in free circulation. This increase was primarily due to a net reduction of 64,000 MKR in the MakerDAO governance contract.

NEO (NEO)

Neos free circulation supply increased by 2 million in q3, with the majority of the balance coming from team-owned NeOs that were moved to more liquid addresses during the quarter.

Stellar (XLM)

Stellar free float supply increased by 575 million XLM, in line with q2 growth. The total increase in free circulation was attributable to the transfer of XLM from foundation-owned addresses to more liquid addresses during the quarter.

Uniswap (UNI)

Uniswap's free circulation increased by 1.4 million UNI in q3. All of this growth is due to the transfer of UNI from foundation-controlled addresses to more liquid markets. These UNI come from mobile mining rewards and users who receive airdrops from UNI distribution addresses for the first time.

Ripple (XRP)

XRP free float supply increased by 1 billion, which is half of the increase in XRP free float supply in each of the previous three quarters. The largest contributor to additional liquidity in the market during the quarter was from addresses controlled by Ripple Foundation, which experienced a net outflow of XRP 686 million. Addresses controlled by the Ripple team also experienced a net outflow of 333 million XRP.

Yearn (YFI)

The free flux supply of Yearn increased by 1058 YFI. Much of this came from an increase in YFI held at foundation control addresses, much of which was used by the foundation to pledge Maker for access to DAI.

Zcash (ZEC)

The Zcash free circulation supply increased by 329,000 ZEC in the third quarter, very similar to the increase in the previous quarter. This low level is also the result of the halving of the ZCash block in November 2020.

There are no other known changes to Zcash's free-floating supply. Please note that if the foundation/team uses a blocked transaction (privacy effectiveness), the controlling assets are unknown.