Crypto project shutdown wave continues in bear market, industry deep cleansing accelerates reshuffle

BlockBeats News: On July 9, another wave of crypto projects was shut down. Crypto trading platform AscendEX announced yesterday that it will stop operating, attributing the decision to the current market environment and the impact of the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA). DeFi data dashboard and asset portfolio tracking tool Zapper announced that it will fully shut down its website, mobile app, and API on August 3. Web3 gaming guild YGG’s game publishing division, YGG Play, will also stop operating on August 1 and cut 35 jobs.

Although the crypto market has rebounded somewhat from earlier lows, the overall industry has not yet escaped the effects of the bear market. Pressure on capital, funding, and user growth has continued, and many projects find it difficult to sustain operations under high operating costs and commercialization pressures. In recent years, across multiple sectors—from trading platforms and DeFi infrastructure to NFTs, wallets, and Web3 games—large numbers of projects have successively announced they will stop operating or scale back their business. The crypto industry remains in an ongoing phase of market liquidation.

For users, they should keep an eye on official project announcements in a timely manner, withdraw platform assets as soon as possible, and avoid fund risks caused by service termination or insufficient liquidity. At the same time, prioritize platforms and protocols with transparent capital, sufficient reserves, and compliant operations, and diversify asset custody to reduce potential losses from a single platform’s shutdown or operational risk.