DeFi

Market Cap (Crypto)

The total value of a token's circulating supply, calculated as the current price multiplied by circulating supply. Market cap is the most common metric for comparing the relative size of different tokens. It differs from FDV, which uses max supply instead. Market cap rankings (e.g., SOL as a top-5 token) reflect both price appreciation and supply dynamics.

IDmarket-cap

Plain meaning

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The total value of a token's circulating supply, calculated as the current price multiplied by circulating supply. Market cap is the most common metric for comparing the relative size of different tokens. It differs from FDV, which uses max supply instead. Market cap rankings (e.g., SOL as a top-5 token) reflect both price appreciation and supply dynamics.

Mental model

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Think of it as a market mechanic used to price, route, or move capital through liquidity apps.

Technical context

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AMMs, routing, liquidity, lending, and trading infrastructure.

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Market Cap (Crypto) (market-cap)
Category: DeFi
Definition: The total value of a token's circulating supply, calculated as the current price multiplied by circulating supply. Market cap is the most common metric for comparing the relative size of different tokens. It differs from FDV, which uses max supply instead. Market cap rankings (e.g., SOL as a top-5 token) reflect both price appreciation and supply dynamics.
Related: Circulating Supply, FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation)
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Branch

Circulating Supply

The number of tokens currently available and tradeable in the open market, excluding locked, vesting, or otherwise restricted tokens. Circulating supply is used to calculate market capitalization (price times circulating supply). It increases as vesting schedules unlock tokens and decreases as tokens are burned. The gap between circulating and max supply indicates future dilution potential.

Branch

FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation)

Fully Diluted Valuation—the theoretical market capitalization if all tokens (including locked, vesting, and unminted) were in circulation, calculated as current token price multiplied by maximum supply. FDV provides a forward-looking valuation metric. A large gap between market cap and FDV indicates significant future token emissions that could create sell pressure as locked tokens unlock.

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DeFi

Circulating Supply

The number of tokens currently available and tradeable in the open market, excluding locked, vesting, or otherwise restricted tokens. Circulating supply is used to calculate market capitalization (price times circulating supply). It increases as vesting schedules unlock tokens and decreases as tokens are burned. The gap between circulating and max supply indicates future dilution potential.

DeFi

FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation)

Fully Diluted Valuation—the theoretical market capitalization if all tokens (including locked, vesting, and unminted) were in circulation, calculated as current token price multiplied by maximum supply. FDV provides a forward-looking valuation metric. A large gap between market cap and FDV indicates significant future token emissions that could create sell pressure as locked tokens unlock.

DeFi

Maturity Date

Date when a debt instrument expires and principal must be repaid. Ranges from overnight (repos) to 30 years (T-bonds). Short-maturity instruments dominate Solana RWA due to lower duration risk. On-chain protocols encode maturity in smart contract logic.

DeFi

Mark Price

The fair value price used by perpetual contract platforms to calculate unrealized PnL and trigger liquidations. Mark price is typically derived from a combination of the oracle index price and the order book or AMM mid-price, weighted to resist manipulation. Using mark price instead of last traded price prevents liquidation hunting through short-lived price spikes on thin markets.

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DeFimoney-market-fund

Money Market Fund

Highly liquid fund holding short-term, high-quality debt (T-bills, commercial paper, repos). Targets stable $1/share NAV. BlackRock's BUIDL ($500M+ AUM) tokenizes money market fund shares as blockchain tokens.

AliasMMF
Related terms

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DeFicirculating-supply

Circulating Supply

The number of tokens currently available and tradeable in the open market, excluding locked, vesting, or otherwise restricted tokens. Circulating supply is used to calculate market capitalization (price times circulating supply). It increases as vesting schedules unlock tokens and decreases as tokens are burned. The gap between circulating and max supply indicates future dilution potential.

DeFifdv

FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation)

Fully Diluted Valuation—the theoretical market capitalization if all tokens (including locked, vesting, and unminted) were in circulation, calculated as current token price multiplied by maximum supply. FDV provides a forward-looking valuation metric. A large gap between market cap and FDV indicates significant future token emissions that could create sell pressure as locked tokens unlock.

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DeFi

AMM (Automated Market Maker)

A protocol that enables token swaps using algorithmic pricing against pooled liquidity instead of matching individual buyers and sellers. AMMs use mathematical formulas (typically constant product x*y=k) to determine prices based on the ratio of tokens in a liquidity pool. On Solana, major AMMs include Raydium, Orca, and Meteora.

DeFi

CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker)

An AMM design where liquidity providers concentrate their capital within specific price ranges instead of across the full 0-to-infinity range. CLMMs dramatically improve capital efficiency—LPs earn more fees per dollar deposited within their active range. If the price moves outside the range, the position becomes inactive. Orca Whirlpools and Raydium CLMM are leading implementations on Solana.

DeFi

Liquidity Pool

A smart-contract-held reserve of two or more tokens that enables trading via an AMM. Users deposit token pairs in specified ratios to become liquidity providers and earn trading fees. Pools are identified by their token pair and fee tier. Pool depth (total value locked) determines price impact for trades.

DeFi

LP Token

A token issued to liquidity providers representing their proportional share of a pool's reserves and accrued fees. LP tokens can be burned to withdraw the underlying assets. The value of LP tokens changes as the pool's token ratios shift and fees accumulate. LP tokens are often stakeable in yield farming programs for additional rewards.