In this guide
Start with the supply basis
For a cryptoasset, market cap and fully diluted valuation can use the same token price but multiply it by different supply figures. Check which supply the number represents before you compare it with another valuation.
This guide uses CoinMarketCap’s named conventions: circulating market cap uses circulating supply, while fully diluted valuation (FDV) uses maximum supply. Its total-supply measure has a separate name: minted market cap (MMC). These are the conventions used for the example below, rather than a definition imposed on every data provider.
Circulating, total and maximum are different inputs
CoinMarketCap describes circulating supply as its best approximation of the assets in the market and in the public’s hands. Its circulation classification matters: an unlocked allocation held by insiders need not count as circulating. “Unlocked” and “circulating” are not interchangeable labels.
Total supply means the units currently in existence, minus verifiably burned units. In CoinMarketCap’s methodology it includes locked and unlocked supply. Multiplying that total by price gives its MMC.
For maximum supply, CoinMarketCap uses the best approximation of the number of units that will exist over the asset’s lifetime, minus verifiably burned units. That maximum is the supply input for its FDV. Calling it a maximum in this methodology does not make it a universally fixed hard cap or a promise about future issuance.
This is a token-metric comparison. For the separate question of what holding a financial product gives you, see the guide to product rights and obligations.
Set one price and one fictional snapshot
Suppose a fictional token has the following inputs at one snapshot, T0. We stipulate the supply classifications and a known finite maximum for this example. Nothing here is a real coin quote or an estimate of a real project’s supply.
| Input | Declared amount | Unit and scope |
|---|---|---|
| Reference price, P | 2 | Illustrative currency units per token at T0 |
| Circulating supply, S | 40,000,000 | Tokens, stipulated at T0 |
| Total supply, T | 60,000,000 | Tokens, stipulated at T0 |
| Finite maximum supply, M | 100,000,000 | Tokens, stipulated assumption |
Here, CU means illustrative currency units. The price is 2 CU per token throughout the calculation. S and T describe the two different supply quantities at T0; M is the finite maximum we have assumed. No future token release or price change is simulated.
Use the same price with three supply figures
Multiply the reference price by the supply input named in each row. Currency units per token multiplied by tokens gives currency units.
| CoinMarketCap convention used here | Calculation | Result in CU |
|---|---|---|
| Circulating market cap: P × S | 2 × 40,000,000 | 80,000,000 |
| Minted market cap: P × T | 2 × 60,000,000 | 120,000,000 |
| FDV: P × M | 2 × 100,000,000 | 200,000,000 |
The three results differ because the supply input changes while price stays fixed. In this example, 120 million CU is the total-supply product, labelled MMC; it is not the maximum-supply FDV of 200 million CU.
Those products do not tell you how much money investors put in or how much cash holders could obtain by selling. In particular, multiplying all assumed units by 2 does not show that all of them could be sold at that price. For a different calculation involving an actual order’s quantity and execution costs, see the difference between a displayed price and the cost of an order.
Check the definition before comparing valuations
When you compare two figures, keep four details with each number: the provider’s methodology, the supply field and its classification, the price reference, and the as-of time. A total-supply product and a maximum-supply product answer different questions even when both appear beside the same token.
If an input is unavailable, leave it unknown. Do not silently substitute total supply for maximum supply or invent a finite maximum to complete an FDV calculation. You would need the named provider’s definition and the relevant input to know what its figure means.
Circulating supply is also not a measure of how much you can buy or sell at a quoted price. A supply classification does not establish executable liquidity. The order-book and AMM guide addresses the separate offers or pool state behind a trading quote.
Finally, this fixed-price comparison models neither future selling nor a later price. An unlock does not, by itself, establish that units will be sold. The gap between the example’s 80 million and 200 million CU supplies no price target, return estimate or verdict that the token is cheap, safe or high quality.
Common questions about market cap and FDV
Does FDV always use maximum supply?
This guide uses CoinMarketCap’s maximum-supply convention. Check the methodology attached to the figure you are reading rather than assuming that the label alone establishes the supply input.
Why is total supply different from circulating supply?
CoinMarketCap’s total supply counts units in existence net of verifiable burns, including locked and unlocked supply. Circulating supply uses its separate classification of assets in the market and in the public’s hands. Being unlocked does not automatically put an insider allocation in that circulating figure.
Does an FDV of 200 million CU mean 200 million CU was invested?
No. In the example, 200 million CU is the product of a stipulated price of 2 CU per token and an assumed maximum of 100 million tokens. It contains no record of cash paid into the asset or cash obtainable from selling it.
Does an unlock tell me the next price?
No later price follows from this calculation. It assumes one price and does not model whether holders sell, the amount they sell or the prices at which any sale could occur.
What if maximum supply is unavailable?
Keep that input unavailable and check the provider’s methodology. Do not treat it as zero, invent a cap or replace it with total supply while presenting the result as this guide’s maximum-supply FDV.
Explore HypaForecast markets
Browse market questions and the current BTC round details. These links are separate from the token-supply illustration and do not establish token issuance, valuation features, current availability or eligibility.
Sources and scope
- CoinMarketCap: Supply (Circulating, Total, Max) — updated 25 September 2026. Named supply classifications and the MMC/FDV conventions used here.
- CoinMarketCap: Market Capitalization (Cryptoasset, Aggregate) — updated 6 January 2026. Reference price and circulating-supply calculation.
The explanatory texts were checked on 19 October 2026. Their update dates are separate from that check. The example’s price, supply classifications and finite maximum are invented; they are not observations of a token, a supply forecast or a verification of another provider’s methodology.
HypaForecast publishes educational guides and operates a prediction market. This token-metric explanation does not establish that HypaForecast issues a token or offers these valuation measures, or that you are eligible to trade.
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