FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation)
Token price multiplied by maximum supply: what a project would be worth if every token existed today, in contrast to circulating market cap.
Fully diluted valuation (FDV) is a token's current price multiplied by its maximum supply, meaning every token that can ever exist. It answers a hypothetical: what would this project be worth if the entire supply were circulating today? It contrasts with market capitalization, which multiplies price by circulating supply only, the tokens actually tradable right now. When a token has no defined maximum, trackers typically fall back to total minted supply.
The gap between market cap and FDV signals future dilution. A token trading at a small market cap but a huge FDV has most of its supply still locked in team, investor, or emissions schedules, and those tokens will eventually reach the market. Buyers who look only at market cap can underestimate how much scheduled sell pressure is on the way, which is why a low ratio of circulating to maximum supply is a common red flag in token due diligence.
FDV has limits as a metric. Some maximum supplies are never fully minted, some tokens are burned faster than they unlock, and price rarely stays constant while large amounts of new supply enter circulation, so FDV is a rough ceiling on dilution rather than a prediction. Tokens from pump-style fair launches often have their full supply issued from day one, which pushes FDV and market cap close together and removes unlock risk, though not price risk.
FDV also differs from backing-based measures. An index token or vault share has a net asset value derived from the assets it holds, while FDV is pure market pricing of the token itself. Comparing FDV against metrics like TVL or NAV helps separate narrative-driven valuation from verifiable asset backing. FDV is one input among many, and none of this is financial advice.