Glossary
Fully diluted valuation (FDV)
Fully diluted valuation (FDV) is the value a crypto project would have if its maximum token supply were already in circulation: the current price multiplied by the maximum (or total) supply. It shows how much future dilution is ahead.
Also called FDV, Fully diluted market cap, Diluted valuation, Fully diluted market capitalization
See also
Fully diluted valuation (FDV) is the theoretical value of a crypto project if every token that will ever exist were already on the market. It complements market capitalization, which only counts the tokens circulating today. The gap between the two shows how many new tokens are still to be released.
How FDV is calculated
FDV = current price × maximum supply
When a token has no maximum supply, data providers usually use the total supply instead (tokens created so far, including locked ones). The maximum supply is set by the project’s tokenomics: for example, Bitcoin is capped at 21 million coins, while many newer tokens fix a supply of 1 billion or 10 billion units at launch and release them gradually.
A useful ratio is market cap ÷ FDV. A ratio close to 100% means most tokens already circulate. A ratio of 10% to 20% means the circulating supply could be multiplied by five to ten over the coming years.
A worked example
A new token trades at $2. 100 million tokens circulate, out of a maximum supply of 1 billion.
- Market cap: $2 × 100 million = $200 million.
- FDV: $2 × 1 billion = $2 billion.
- Ratio: 10%.
For the price to stay at $2 once all tokens are released, the market would have to absorb $1.8 billion of extra supply. If demand does not grow at the same pace, the price per token will tend to fall.
Why it matters
Low-float, high-FDV launches have become common: only a small part of the supply is sold at listing, which supports a high price, while the rest is held by teams and investors and released through token unlocks. FDV helps you see the real size of the valuation and compare projects fairly. Two tokens with the same market cap can have very different FDVs.
Risks and limits
- FDV is a snapshot at today’s price; it does not predict where the price will be when tokens unlock.
- Some tokens may never circulate (burned, reserved for long-term rewards), so FDV can overstate future supply.
- Supply data can be incomplete or change if the project updates its token model.
- Inflationary tokens without a cap have no true FDV; watch the emission rate instead.