Fully-diluted valuation (FDV) estimates what a crypto project would be worth if every token that can ever exist were already in circulation, valued at today's price. It is the current price multiplied by the maximum (or total planned) supply, rather than the circulating supply.
FDV matters because it reveals hidden future supply. A coin can show a modest market cap today, yet a far larger FDV warns that many more tokens are due to be released — and that future selling could weigh heavily on the price as they unlock.
A large gap between market cap and FDV is a signal to read the token's unlock schedule carefully. FDV is a "what if everything were issued now" snapshot, not a prediction, but it frames the dilution risk that a price chart alone hides.
Worked example
A coin at $1 with 100 million circulating but 1 billion maximum supply has a $100 million market cap and a $1 billion FDV.
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This definition is general education, not investment advice. Markets — especially crypto — are volatile and you can lose money. Please read our disclaimer and see our methodology.