Market DataIntermediate

Fully diluted valuation in crypto: what it measures

Fully diluted valuation estimates a token's total value if every possible coin circulated. The figure uses maximum supply and often runs above market cap.

Vahe HakobyanEditor-in-chief Updated Oct 6, 20263 min readFact-checked

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What is fully diluted valuation?How is FDV calculated?How should I read FDV?What does FDV not tell you?FAQ

Short answer

Fully diluted valuation in crypto estimates a token's total value if every possible coin were circulating. It multiplies the current token price by the maximum supply, so it often runs above market cap.

FDV appears on token trackers beside market cap. The two figures use different supply counts, and the gap between them shows how many coins have yet to enter circulation.

What is fully diluted valuation?

Fully diluted valuation rests on a supply figure. It asks what the token's value would be if every coin that could ever exist were already trading. The current price is applied to that full count, not only to the coins circulating today.

How is FDV calculated?

Market cap uses circulating supply, the coins that can trade now. FDV multiplies the current price by the maximum supply. Some trackers use total supply instead, so one token can show different FDV numbers.

Market cap versus fully diluted valuation
Criterion	Market cap	FDV
Supply figure	Circulating supply	Maximum or total supply
What it measures	Value of coins trading now	Value if every possible coin circulated
Includes locked coins	No	Usually yes

How should I read FDV?

A wide gap between FDV and market cap points to future dilution. New coins enter circulation through token unlocks or ongoing emissions. Projects usually publish unlock schedules and emission rates, which trackers display.

What does FDV not tell you?

FDV is not money invested. It is a hypothetical value built from supply and the current price.

Market cap and FDV both ignore liquidity and trading depth.
FDV ignores what the token does and how its network is used.
Different trackers may use total supply, maximum supply, or circulating supply.

Frequently asked questions

Market cap counts only the coins that can trade now. FDV covers the full supply, so it describes a larger base.

Many tokens hold coins that are locked, reserved, or not yet created. Those coins stay out of circulating supply, so counting them raises the valuation above market cap.

Locked coins are usually included, because FDV counts the full supply. Burned coins are removed and cannot return. Check which supply figure a tracker uses.

Token trackers usually show FDV next to market cap. Project documentation typically publishes the unlock schedule. Compare more than one source, since supply definitions vary.

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Written byVahe HakobyanVahe Hakobyan is the editor-in-chief of World-Crypt. He covers bitcoin, markets and regulation, and leads the newsroom that fact-checks every story before it goes live.