Exploring failed ventures: RootData publishes list of deceased crypto projects

RootData, a provider of visual and structured data on companies in the digital finance industry, has published a list of deceased crypto projects that failed to make it through 2023.

The biggest names to make the list were Prime Trust, Yield Protocol, Wyre, Multichain and Clockwork. In total, the RootData list included 116 crypto projects that announced their closure or bankruptcy in 2023 and had inactive Internet resources for a long time.

RootData analysts note: in total, the funds previously allocated for creating and financing “dead projects of 2023” exceeded $940 million.

The most difficult period and the peak of the most high-profile fiascoes was the second half of 2023. At the end of June, amid the consequences of the crypto winter and Bolt Financial’s refusal to purchase, the Wyre payment platform closed. In July, after the arrest of its founder and a series of hacks, Multichain went bankrupt.

In August 2023, due to financial problems, the custodial service Crypto Custodian Prime Trust announced its bankruptcy. At the same time as Prime Trust, the Solana blockchain-based smart contract automation project Clockwork ceased to exist due to “limited commercial potential.”

October saw the closure of DeFi crypto lender Yield Protocol, which announced that the cessation of operations was due to a “lack of regulatory safety and sustained demand for fixed-rate borrowing.”

At the same time, 2023 was the year of recovery of the cryptocurrency market. Its capitalization has more than doubled in 12 months, rising from $830 billion to its current $1.66 trillion. Bitfinex analysts expect the cryptocurrency market capitalization to reach as much as $3.2 trillion in 2024.