Fully Diluted Valuation — the total market cap if every token that will ever exist was in circulation at the current price.
Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) is a metric that calculates what a cryptocurrency's total market capitalization would be if every token that will ever exist (max supply or projected total supply) was currently in circulation at today's price. FDV = Current Price × Max/Total Supply. This differs from circulating market cap, which only counts tokens currently tradeable. The gap between circulating market cap and FDV reveals future dilution risk. A token with a $100M market cap but $2B FDV means 95% of tokens haven't entered circulation yet — they'll eventually be released through vesting schedules, staking rewards, or ecosystem grants, creating massive selling pressure. FDV-to-market-cap ratio is one of the most important metrics for evaluating new token launches. Tokens with high FDV relative to market cap have been some of the worst performers in crypto, as vesting unlocks consistently pressure prices downward.
Fully Diluted Valuation represents the theoretical market cap if every possible token were in circulation at the current price — including locked tokens, vesting allocations, and future emissions. FDV is critical because many crypto projects launch with only 5-20% of total supply circulating, meaning the market cap at launch dramatically understates the project's implied valuation. A token with $100M market cap but $2B FDV signals that 95% of tokens haven't entered the market yet — creating potential selling pressure as locked tokens unlock. This dynamic has burned many investors who bought based on market cap without checking FDV. Token unlock schedules (available on sites like TokenUnlocks.app) show when locked tokens become available for sale, often creating predictable selling pressure around unlock dates. The FDV-to-market-cap ratio is a useful metric: ratios above 5-10x suggest substantial future dilution risk.
A newly launched token has 10M tokens circulating at $10 each (market cap: $100M) but a max supply of 1B tokens (FDV: $10B). This 100x gap means 990M tokens will eventually flood the market — a massive red flag for early buyers who will face extreme dilution.
Not necessarily — but you should understand the unlock schedule and factor future dilution into your investment thesis. A high FDV-to-market-cap ratio means significant supply will enter circulation over time. If demand doesn't grow proportionally, price faces downward pressure. Compare FDV to the project's realistic total addressable market.