High market value, low circulation, these four tokens are worth noting

Original title: 1 in 5 Top Crypto Are Low Float, With Large Future Unlocks

Original author: Lim Yu Qian, CoinGecko
Original translation: Vernacular Blockchain

1. How many low-circulation cryptocurrencies are there?

Low-circulation cryptocurrencies account for 21.3% of the top 300 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization. This means that for every 5 cryptocurrencies with higher market capitalization, a large portion of the token supply has not yet been unlocked, resulting in a market capitalization to fully diluted valuation (FDV) ratio of less than 0.5.

Among the cryptocurrencies with higher market capitalization, the 4 cryptocurrencies with the lowest circulation are Worldcoin (WLD), which has a market capitalization to FDV ratio of 0.02, followed by Cheelee (CHEEL) at 0.06, Starknet (STRK) at 0.07, and Saga (SAGA) at 0.09. All 4 of these cryptocurrencies with the lowest circulation were released in 2023 or 2024.

The top 21% of cryptocurrencies by market cap are low circulation, while only 25% are fully diluted.

Note: "Fully diluted" refers to a cryptocurrency where all tokens have been issued and are circulating on the market. In other words, a fully diluted cryptocurrency is one where no tokens are locked up or reserved, and all tokens available for circulation have been issued.

Most of the low circulation cryptocurrencies are relatively new additions to the market: 54 of the 64 large-cap cryptocurrencies with low circulation were released in the past four years (12 in 2021, 13 in 2022, 17 in 2023, and 12 in 2024 as of now). As more projects release tokens, the oversupply caused by future token unlocking is expected to continue to put pressure on the cryptocurrency market.

2. How many cryptocurrencies have fully diluted market capitalization?

Of the top 300 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, 74 have a market capitalization to fully diluted valuation (FDV) ratio of 1. In other words, only 24.7% of the large-cap cryptocurrencies have all their tokens issued and circulating in the market, with no tokens to be unlocked soon.

Compared to low-circulation cryptocurrencies, less than half or only 28 were released in the past four years. The majority of 74 cryptocurrencies, 46 of which were released between 2014 and 2020.

It is worth noting that 14 of these 74 fully diluted cryptocurrencies are memecoins. And most of the fully diluted cryptocurrencies released in 2023 and 2024 are also memecoins, such as Pepe (PEPE) and dogwifhat (WIF). This reflects the recent trend of memecoin becoming a continuous narrative or regular rotation in the cryptocurrency market.

1) 54% of large-cap cryptocurrencies are high-circulation cryptocurrencies

High-circulation cryptocurrencies account for 162 of the top 300 by market capitalization, which means that 54.0% of large-cap cryptocurrencies have unlocked more than half of their token supply.

In particular, 28.7% of large-cap cryptocurrencies are almost fully diluted, with a market cap to FDV ratio of 0.80 or higher. This mainly includes older cryptocurrencies such as Maker (MKR), which has a market cap to FDV ratio of 0.95, Aave (AAVE) at 0.93, and Near Protocol (NEAR) at 0.90.

Overall, the average market cap to FDV ratio for the top 300 cryptocurrencies by market cap is 0.73.

2) High Flow vs Low Flow Cryptocurrencies

The percentage share of fully diluted market cap, high flow, and low flow cryptocurrencies among the top 300 cryptocurrencies by market cap as of 2024 is as follows:

3. Notes

This study used data from CoinGecko for the top 300 cryptocurrencies by market cap as of May 8, 2024, excluding stablecoins and wrapped assets. For cryptocurrencies without a maximum supply, fully diluted valuations are considered the same as market cap.

For the purposes of this study, low flow cryptocurrencies are defined as cryptocurrencies with a market cap to FDV ratio of 0 to 0.49, high flow cryptocurrencies with a ratio of 0.50 to 0.99, and only cryptocurrencies with a ratio of 1 are considered fully diluted.

This research is for illustrative and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. Always do your own research and exercise caution when investing funds in any cryptocurrency or financial asset.

　　Disclaimer: Includes third-party opinions. No financial advice. See Risk Warning.