
Crypto crisis unfolds: 1.8M tokens fail in Q1 2025 – What sparked it?
Before 2024, token failures rarely exceeded six figures. However, the year 2025 has ushered in a new era of unprecedented failure rates. In just the first quarter alone, over 1.8 million crypto projects have failed, accounting for nearly half of all project closures since 2021.
While it may be tempting to attribute this crisis solely to pump.fun’s impact on the market, it is crucial to understand that the platform played a significant role in driving both project creation and collapse. By simplifying token creation, pump.fun enabled the mass production of low-effort tokens, amplifying failure rates significantly. This unprecedented wave of token failures has set a new benchmark for the crypto community.
According to data from CoinGecko, nearly seven million cryptocurrencies have been tracked since 2021, with over half of them (3.7 million) no longer active. It is crucial to understand that the majority of these failed projects are speculative in nature and never had any intention of delivering tangible value or functionality to end-users.
As Bitcoin’s dominance surged by a whopping 13% between January and April 2025, it has become increasingly clear that the era of low-barrier meme token mania is nearing its conclusion. The focus appears to be shifting toward quality and resilience, away from speculative projects.
Source: https://ambcrypto.com/crypto-crisis-unfolds-1-8m-tokens-fail-in-q1-2025-how/