Circulating vs Fully Diluted Supply

Circulating supply is the number of coins actually trading in the market right now, while fully diluted supply (FDV) counts every coin that will ever exist once all vesting, mining, or unlock schedules finish. The gap between the two matters because a low circulating supply can make a coin's price look cheap while a huge future unlock waits to flood the market and pressure that price down. For example, a token might show a $50 million market cap with only 5% of coins circulating, but a fully diluted valuation of $1 billion once the remaining 95% unlocks over the next three years. Checking both numbers before buying tells you whether early holders and insiders are sitting on supply that could hit the market later, diluting your share of the network.