Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV)
The theoretical market cap if all tokens were in circulation at the current price, including locked and unvested allocations.
Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) — Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) is the theoretical market capitalization of a cryptocurrency if all tokens in its maximum or total supply were in circulation at the current price. FDV is calculated as: token price multiplied by total (or maximum) supply. It represents the total value the market would assign to the project if all tokens were unlocked today, serving as a forward-looking valuation metric that accounts for future token dilution.
What Is Fully Diluted Valuation?
Fully Diluted Valuation answers the question: "If every token that will ever exist were available today at the current price, what would the total value be?" For a token priced at $2 with a maximum supply of 1 billion tokens, the FDV is $2 billion — regardless of whether only 100 million tokens are currently circulating (which would give a market cap of $200 million).
FDV provides a more complete picture of a project's implied valuation because it accounts for all tokens that will eventually enter circulation through vesting unlocks, staking rewards, and ecosystem emissions.
FDV vs. Market Cap
Market cap (circulating supply times price) reflects the current market valuation based on tokens available today. FDV (total supply times price) reflects the implied valuation assuming full dilution. The ratio between them reveals dilution risk. A token with a $100 million market cap and $1 billion FDV has a 10:1 FDV-to-market-cap ratio, meaning 90% of tokens have not yet entered circulation.
High FDV relative to market cap is a warning sign that significant selling pressure lies ahead as locked tokens unlock. Investors comparing projects should use FDV for apples-to-apples comparisons, since two tokens with similar market caps may have vastly different FDVs.
FDV in Investment Decisions
Venture capital investors often negotiate investments based on FDV because it represents the true cost of their ownership percentage. A $10 million investment at a $100 million FDV buys 10% of the fully diluted supply. Retail investors should also evaluate FDV when assessing whether a token is overvalued — a $50 million market cap token with a $5 billion FDV is priced more aggressively than it appears from market cap alone.
Related Terms
Market Cap (Crypto)
The total value of a token calculated as current price × circulating supply; used to rank cryptocurrencies by size.
Read definition Token EconomicsTotal Supply
The maximum number of tokens that will ever exist for a given cryptocurrency, as defined in its smart contract.
Read definition Token EconomicsCirculating Supply
The number of tokens currently available and tradeable in the market, excluding locked, vested, or burned tokens.
Read definition Token EconomicsTokenomics
The economic design of a cryptocurrency token including supply, distribution, vesting schedules, incentives, and use cases.
Read definition Token EconomicsVesting Schedule
A timeline defining when team, investor, or advisor tokens unlock and become available for sale.
Read definitionFrequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Fully Diluted Valuation (FDV) in cryptocurrency and DeFi.
Not necessarily. A high FDV relative to market cap indicates future dilution, but if the project's revenue and adoption grow proportionally, the market can absorb new supply without price declines. The concern is when FDV is high relative to the project's actual economic activity and growth trajectory.
Use both. Market cap tells you the current valuation based on available supply. FDV tells you the implied full valuation and reveals dilution risk. Compare FDV to similar projects to assess relative valuation, and check the vesting schedule to understand when dilution will occur.
Many new tokens launch with low circulating supply (5-15% of total), which can drive the price up due to scarcity. This low-float, high-demand dynamic inflates the price per token, and when multiplied by the large total supply, produces a seemingly high FDV. As more tokens unlock and enter circulation, the price often corrects downward toward a more sustainable FDV.
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