The wave of crypto shutdowns has entered a deep bear stage: over 60 well-known projects have left the market, and the cleaning of the bear market has accelerated

Comparing the news, as time entered the second half of the bear market, the cryptocurrency market experienced a clear round of industry clearance. Today, Shaw Walters, founder of ElizaOS (formerly ai16z), announced that the AI16z/ElizaOS token has completely died, and the associated foundation will gradually cease operations. This is another iconic exit event following the shutdown of over 60 well-known crypto projects in the first half of the year.

According to statistics, in 2026, more than 60 well-known crypto projects, public chain/Layer2, DeFi protocols, wallets, NFT platforms, and DAO tools have announced that they have stopped operations or filed for bankruptcy, and the pace of shutdown accelerated markedly in late July.

This round of exit covered almost every track. On the PT1 side of centralized trading, derivatives pioneer BitMEX announced on July 23 that it will officially close on September 23, ending 11 years of operation; AscendEX stopped trading on July 1 due to failure to obtain an EU MiCA license; and BitMart initiated a phased shutdown. In Layer1/Layer 2 and infrastructure, Polygon zkEVM, Botanix, Sophon, Powerloom, MilkyWay, etc. have been suspended one after another. In the DeFi sector, Radiant Capital, Step Finance (after being hacked for around $40 million), Ionic Protocol, Everclear, etc. withdrew due to security incidents or liquidity exhaustion. Wallet tracks include Secondfi, Ctrl Wallet, and Leap Wallet closed due to security breaches or strategic adjustments. NFTs, games, and tool projects such as Foundation, Fishing Frenzy, Tally, and Zapper have not been spared.

The main reasons focus on three points: the business model fails to generate sustainable revenue (even if some projects have had high monthly activity or transaction volume), the outflow of users and funds due to the cooling of the racetrack, and hacker attacks directly cut off the funding chain. Many projects have received millions to tens of millions of dollars in financing, but it is difficult to prove the product's market fit after the market retracted. Unlike a series of explosions in leverage in 2022, this round was more about starving to death — orderly or forced exits after running out of funds.

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