Shock: Over 3.7 Million Projects Have Disappeared in Four Years

The world of cryptocurrency is undergoing an unprecedented crisis as more than half of the digital tokens have ceased all activity. According to data from GeckoTerminal, of the nearly 7 million cryptocurrencies that have been listed since 2021, about 3.7 million have gone bankrupt, corresponding to an alarming failure rate of 52.7%. Summary More than 3.7 million cryptocurrencies have stopped trading since 2021. The first quarter of 2025 accounts for nearly 50% of the total number of recorded failures. The launch of the Pump.fun platform has contributed to the explosion in the number of cryptocurrency projects. Only 1% of memecoins created on Pump.fun still exist. 3.7 million projects have disappeared in four years How many cryptocurrencies have actually died in recent years? According to data from GeckoTerminal, of nearly 7 million cryptocurrencies listed since 2021, about 3.7 million have stopped trading and are considered bankrupt, corresponding to a failure rate of 52.7%. This trend is expected to accelerate significantly from 2024 to early 2025, particularly focusing on the first quarter of 2025. This critical period coincides with Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, followed by a significant slowdown in the cryptocurrency market. The explosion in the number of projects reflects a radical change in the ecosystem. In 2021, there were only 428,383 projects listed on GeckoTerminal. By 2025, this number reached nearly 7 million, an increase of sixteen times in four years. This exponential growth is largely explained by the emergence of platforms like Pump.fun, which democratize the creation of tokens. These tools allow anyone to launch their own cryptocurrency without needing deep expertise, flooding the market with memecoins and projects with low fundamental value. 2025, a dark year for cryptocurrency The first quarter of 2025 set a catastrophic record with 1.8 million cryptocurrency projects halting all operations. This figure accounts for nearly half of (49.7%) of the total errors recorded during the period of 2021-2025. The year 2024 has shown concerning signs with 1.4 million failed projects ( accounting for 37.7% of the total number of failed projects ). Paradoxically, that same year witnessed the emergence of over 3 million new cryptocurrencies, illustrating the extreme volatility of the industry. The situation was quite different before. From 2021 to 2023, the number of failed projects remained limited to under 250,000 projects per year. The recent boom is largely explained by the emergence of platforms that significantly simplify token creation. Pump.fun is a perfect example: this platform has generated a wave of memecoins and projects with no real underlying value. Even at its peak in November 2024, the survival rate of tokens on Pump.fun was only 1.67%. This rate has since fallen below 1% for four consecutive weeks, reflecting the increasing disinterest of investors in these speculative assets. The major collapse of this cryptocurrency highlights the importance of thorough analysis before investing in this volatile field. While thousands of projects disappear each month, investors seem to gradually favor more established digital assets over high-risk, ephemeral tokens.