Understanding Cryptocurrency Demise
In the ever-evolving landscape of cryptocurrency, not all projects see the light of success. A recent analysis from Longhash has lifted the veil on the reasons why certain cryptocurrencies have met a tragic end. Spoiler alert: it’s not just about the bears overruning the bulls.
The Abandonment Epidemic
According to Longhash’s deep dive into 700 crowd-sourced entries compiled over 8 years, the runaway leader in the cryptocurrency graveyard is “death by abandonment.” An alarming 63.1% of dead coins met their demise when investors ghosted them—volume dropped faster than my enthusiasm for fitness after New Year’s resolutions.
Average Lifespan of Cryptos: A Gloomy Outlook
It turns out that cryptocurrencies abandoned by their investors often flicker out after a relatively short lifespan of just 1.6 years. It seems like even a software can’t last long if it’s not being used—much like a forgotten gym membership!
Scandals and Scams: The Next Big Killer
Trailing behind abandonment is the dark alley of alleged scams accounting for 29.9% of failed cryptocurrencies. These nefarious projects often lasted just about a year—like that friend who always promises to take care of your plants but ends up forgetting within the week. The scam spike reached its peak in 2017, a year that was not great for trust but fantastic for creative nefariousness!
Humor in the Graveyard: The Joke Projects
No discussion of dead cryptocurrencies would be complete without acknowledging the humorous entry, joke projects, which consist of coins like AnalCoin and BieberCoin. Although these were meant to elicit chuckles, they represent 3.2% of total fallen coins and had an average lifespan of 1.4 years. It’s almost as if their creators never really took them seriously—much like the jokes they were based on.
Counting the Dead: A Thorny Task
Counting these deceased cryptocurrencies is as tricky as finding a clean bathroom at a festival. With sources like Cointopsy listing 705 dead projects and CoinMarketCap registering over 1,000, there’s little agreement on what constitutes a “dead” coin. Whether it’s due to low liquidity, theft, a lack of utility, or the good old management feud, the tales of these digital coins’ demise paint a chaotic picture of the crypto world.
