RootData’s « Crypto Industry Dead Projects 2026 » list reveals that 99 crypto projects have officially shut down in 2026. The affected projects include wallets such as Family, Ctrl, and Leap, centralized exchanges like BitMart, BitMEX, and AscendEX, as well as DeFi protocols like Zapper, Stream Finance, Parsec, Loopring, and Goldfinch. Unlike previous cycles, this wave of closures is not confined to a single niche but affects exchanges, lending protocols, NFT platforms, Layer-2 networks, AI projects, and developer tools. Many projects were launched during the 2024-2025 bull market when venture capital was readily available but failed to adapt when funding became more selective and teams had to demonstrate real user growth. This movement follows a historical cycle: after the 2018 ICOs and the 2022 centralized lenders, the sector is left with fewer but generally stronger players.
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