What is Market Cap?

Market capitalisation, or market cap, estimates the overall size of a crypto asset by multiplying its current price by its circulating supply. It offers a quick sense of scale, helping you compare a large, established asset with a small, speculative one beyond just the per-token price.

This matters because price alone is misleading. A token that costs a fraction of a cent is not automatically “cheap”, because if it has a huge supply, its market cap and the money needed to move its price can be enormous.

Example: two tokens both priced at one dollar can have wildly different market caps if one has a million coins and the other has a billion, meaning very different sizes and risk profiles.

Safety note: scammers exploit low-cap tokens because thin markets are easy to pump and dump. A tiny market cap can also be manipulated by a single holder. Be especially cautious with very low-cap tokens and always distinguish circulating market cap from fully diluted valuation, which can be far larger once locked tokens unlock. Related terms include circulating supply, fully diluted valuation, tokenomics, and stablecoin.