82 Crypto Projects Shut Down in 2026, Involving DeFi and Web3 Games

In 2026, 82 digital asset projects and protocols have been shut down, including Balancer, Radiant Capital, Neon EVM, and Step Finance, covering the fields of DeFi, blockchain infrastructure, and Web3 games. The reasons for the shutdowns include declining revenues, exhausted funding, and security incidents. Bitcoin's price briefly fell below $60,000 at the beginning of the year, down from its historical high of $126,000 in October 2025, increasing the financial pressure on projects. When announcing its shutdown, Ethereum Layer 2 network Blast stated that the project lacked a "credible economic viable path." Step Finance shut down due to a significant treasury vulnerability incident, while Radiant Capital announced the end of operations after failing to recover from a vulnerability incident in 2024. Research from DeFiLlama in August showed that 100 crypto projects have announced shutdowns in 2026, with 40 occurring in the previous 90 days. The most common reason cited was a mismatch between product and market, followed by exhausted funding, insufficient revenue, and a shift to other products. The related projects collectively raised about $1 billion and incurred a total of $250 million in expenses, with 9 individual projects raising over $50 million.

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