Recent data reveals a significant decline in the cryptocurrency market, with a staggering 20.2 million tokens introduced since 2021, as reported by CoinGecko. Notably, 53.2% of these tokens have stopped active trading, marking them as defunct. This trend saw a peak in 2022, with 11.6 million token failures, accounting for 86.3% of the total dead tokens recorded.
The infamous demise of TerraUSD, now known as USTC, exemplifies this phenomenon, plummeting from its dollar peg to just 2 cents amid market chaos. Although still tradable on the blockchain, the value of such dead cryptocurrencies is negligible, reflecting the fundamental economic principle that items without demand hold no market value.
Additionally, the rise of platforms like Pump.fun, known for generating cryptocurrencies with minimal effort, coincides with this downturn. The proliferation of these low-effort "memecoins" has exacerbated the situation, contributing to a market landscape littered with currencies that have lost their appeal and viability.