What is Fully diluted valuation (FDV)?
What a coin's market cap would be if every token that will ever exist were circulating today. A large gap between FDV and market cap means unlocks are scheduled to arrive.
Fully diluted valuation answers a question ordinary market cap dodges: what would this project be worth if every token that will ever exist were circulating today? Market cap counts only circulating supply; FDV counts the locked, vested and reserved tokens still scheduled to arrive.
The gap between the two is a forecast of selling pressure. A token with a $100M market cap and a $2B FDV has 95% of its supply still to hit the market — every unlock hands insiders and early investors tokens they may sell, diluting everyone who bought earlier. It's one of crypto's most reliable structural warnings and one of the least checked. Our coin pages show FDV alongside market cap; when they diverge widely, ask who's scheduled to receive the difference, and when.
See it in practice
Related terms: Market cap · Burn · Rug pull · full glossary
FAQ
What's a "bad" FDV-to-market-cap ratio?
There's no magic line, but the higher the multiple, the more future supply looms — and the more the current price depends on demand growing faster than unlocks arrive. Check the unlock schedule, not just the ratio.
Does Bitcoin have an FDV problem?
No — over 90% of all bitcoin that will ever exist already circulates, and the rest arrives slowly via mining until ~2140. FDV concerns belong mainly to young tokens with heavy insider allocations.
General information only, not financial advice. Definitions are maintained in our fact database and reviewed with the daily rebuild.