FDV takes today's price and multiplies it by the maximum supply, the total number of coins that can ever exist, rather than by the coins circulating now. It answers a hypothetical: if all the locked, reserved and not-yet-issued tokens were suddenly on the market at this price, what would the whole project be valued at? For coins where most of the supply is already circulating, FDV and market cap are close. For coins with lots of tokens still to unlock, FDV can be far higher.
This gap is genuinely useful for spotting hidden dilution. Imagine a token with only ten percent of its eventual supply circulating. Its market cap might look modest, but its FDV is roughly ten times larger, a signal that a great many tokens are still due to enter circulation. As they unlock, they can create persistent selling pressure and dilute existing holders, even if the project itself is doing well.
FDV is a lens, not a verdict. It assumes the current price and full supply at once, which rarely happens neatly, and it says nothing about whether a project is good. Reading market cap and FDV together, alongside the token unlock schedule, is a core habit of honest tokenomics analysis. Crypto House offers this as education, not advice.
How to Evaluate a Crypto Project
Key takeaways
- FDV is the current price multiplied by the maximum possible supply, not just the circulating supply.
- A large gap between market cap and FDV signals many tokens still due to unlock and potential dilution.
- It is a useful lens on future supply, but it is hypothetical and does not judge a project's quality.
Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) — perguntas frequentes
How is FDV different from market cap?
Market cap uses the coins circulating now, while FDV uses the maximum supply that could ever exist. When lots of tokens are still locked, FDV can be far larger than market cap, revealing future dilution that price alone hides.
Why should I care about a high FDV?
A high FDV relative to market cap means many tokens are still to enter circulation. As they unlock, they can add selling pressure and dilute holders, so a coin that looks cheap on market cap may look far less so on FDV.
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