Learn / Beginner
Market cap, liquidity and trading volume
Learn why a low token price does not establish that a cryptocurrency is cheap.
The Token Press education desk · Reviewed 2026-09-08
Three different measurements
Market capitalization generally multiplies a token’s circulating supply by its market price. Trading volume measures reported activity over a period. Liquidity describes how readily orders can execute without substantially changing the price. These measures answer different questions.
Market capitalization is not a bank balance or the amount of cash invested. Fully diluted valuation applies a price to a broader supply figure, often maximum or total supply, and depends on the provider’s methodology.
An illustrative comparison
Suppose token A trades at $1 with one billion circulating units. Token B trades at $100 with one million circulating units. Their illustrative market caps are $1 billion and $100 million respectively. Comparing their unit prices alone reverses the impression created by comparing supply-adjusted values.
Now imagine only a few units are offered near the last traded price. A large market order may move through multiple price levels. That price impact can occur even when a website displays a substantial market cap.
Read the methodology
Check the timestamp, quote currency, circulating-supply assumptions and exchange coverage of any data page. Reported volume can be distorted, and thin markets can produce misleading last prices.
Trending searches indicate attention, while gainers and losers describe changes over a defined interval. Neither is a measure of fundamental quality. Our market pages identify the data provider and scope so readers can interpret the numbers rather than treating a ranking as a recommendation.
Sources & further reading
Educational content. Examples are illustrative. Consult the linked documentation for current details.