More than 50% of cryptocurrencies launched since 2021 have failed, with a reported 3.7 million tokens now inactive. Q1 2025 alone saw the shutdown of 1.8 million projects, attributed partially to market instability following Donald Trump’s return to office. The ease of token creation through platforms like Pump.fun is largely seen as a contributing factor to the rising failure rate in the crypto market.
The cryptocurrency market is facing a significant downturn, with more than half of all coins launched since 2021 now declared failures. To put it into perspective, a staggering 3.7 million tokens have disappeared, raising concerns about the stability of the market. A report from GeckoTerminal highlights that a considerable portion of these closures occurred during the latest wave of memecoin hype, particularly around the platform Pump.fun, known for easing token creation and marketing.
Recent statistics show that Q1 of 2025 alone accounted for 1.8 million token failures, a record high that has not been seen in previous years. Between 2021 and 2025, a total of 49.7% of all token failures occurred in this brief timeframe. In fact, the decline has shown an alarming sharp increase, as nearly 1.4 million projects vanished in 2024, representing a whopping 37.7% of the overall failures of the past five years.
CoinGecko, which tracks cryptocurrency listings, confirms that 52.7% of the projects listed on its platform have failed. The dizzying expansion of the market prompted by Pump.fun in 2024 allowed for over 3 million new tokens to be introduced. In stark contrast, the years prior saw shutdowns remain relatively modest, with only 12.6% failures noted from 2021 to 2023.
The surge in failed tokens doesn’t seem entirely coincidental, especially in relation to broader market trends. Experts suggest that the closure of these projects, particularly in Q1 2025, could be linked to an overall market weakness, arguably influenced by the political climate following Donald Trump’s return to office in January.
In 2021, GeckoTerminal had about 428,000 listed cryptocurrencies, skyrocketing to nearly 7 million by 2025. This explosion in numbers reflects significant interest and hype, yet it also brings to light the sustainability challenges facing these projects. Many involved have now recognised that the ease of creating tokens has also led to a flood of basic and sometimes non-viable projects entering the market.
As the landscape of cryptocurrency continues to evolve, the alarming rate of failures raises serious questions about the future. The initial excitement of token launches feels like a distant memory as more and more investors watch their digital assets vanish, prompting reviews of responsibility and regulation in this tumultuous industry.
The cryptocurrency community needs to brace for what may come next; this crash serves as a cautionary tale of the volatility inherent in the digital currency realm.
