The Vibe: When new coins or tokens get created or unlocked, making each existing one worth a smaller piece of the pie.
The Details: Dilution happens when the total or circulating supply increases—like through ongoing mining rewards, team/investor unlocks, staking emissions, or inflation built into the tokenomics. If demand doesn’t grow at least as fast, the price per coin usually drops because ownership gets spread thinner (your percentage of the total supply shrinks). It’s like a company issuing more shares—existing holders own less of the whole unless the project grows bigger to match.
Pro Tip: Always check the emission schedule, vesting cliffs, and future unlocks in the tokenomics. Low or zero dilution (like Bitcoin’s fixed 21M) is great for long-term holders; high dilution needs strong growth to offset it.