Plain-English definition
FDV multiplies the price by the total supply that will ever exist, including tokens not yet released. It is the market cap of the imagined future where all the unlocks have happened.
A large gap between market cap and FDV is a warning sign: a flood of tokens is scheduled to arrive, and someone will want to sell them. Reading the unlock schedule is reading the future supply pressure.
Why it matters
FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) matters because crypto markets can look precise while still being shallow, crowded, or poorly sourced. A useful read is not just the number. It is the number, the size behind it, the context around it, and the part it cannot explain.
Simple example
A simple FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) example is a reader comparing two venues with the same headline price but different depth. The deeper venue can absorb more capital before the trade, peg, or yield reading starts to move against the user.
How Bathymark uses this term
Bathymark uses FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) to translate open market data into live liquidity readings. When the term touches a live page, the reading links back to the relevant chain, protocol, stablecoin, DEX, perps, or Signal so the source remains checkable.
Common mistake
The common mistake is treating FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation) as a complete signal by itself. Bathymark treats it as one instrument: useful when read beside liquidity, source, size, and what the number cannot prove.