Glossary · F
FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation)
The total market capitalisation of a cryptocurrency if its entire maximum supply were in circulation at the current price. FDV = current price × maximum supply. FDV is important context when evaluating tokens with large unvested allocations — a token with $500M market cap but $5B FDV has 90% of supply yet to unlock, representing significant potential selling pressure from future unlock events.
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How FDV works in practice
FDV values a token as though every token that will ever exist already circulates. It matters because low float with high FDV means large supply is still to arrive, and that supply has to be absorbed by someone.
Worked example
A token at 10 with 10m circulating has a 100m market cap. If maximum supply is 1bn, FDV is 10bn — meaning 99% of supply is yet to hit the market. Holding at that price is a bet that demand grows faster than unlocks.
Figures are illustrative and chosen to be checkable, not live market data.
The mistake that costs people money
Comparing market caps between a fully circulating token and a 5%-float launch is meaningless. FDV against market cap is the ratio that tells you how much dilution is still coming.
FDV: common questions
- What is FDV?
- The total market capitalisation of a cryptocurrency if its entire maximum supply were in circulation at the current price. FDV = current price × maximum supply. FDV is important context when evaluating tokens with large unvested allocations — a token with $500M market cap but $5B FDV has 90% of supply yet to unlock, representing significant potential selling pressure from future unlock events.
- How does FDV work in practice?
- FDV values a token as though every token that will ever exist already circulates. It matters because low float with high FDV means large supply is still to arrive, and that supply has to be absorbed by someone.
- Can you give an example of FDV?
- A token at 10 with 10m circulating has a 100m market cap. If maximum supply is 1bn, FDV is 10bn — meaning 99% of supply is yet to hit the market. Holding at that price is a bet that demand grows faster than unlocks.
- What do people get wrong about FDV?
- Comparing market caps between a fully circulating token and a 5%-float launch is meaningless. FDV against market cap is the ratio that tells you how much dilution is still coming.