In response to CoinGecko’s Article — “Dead Coins: Over 50% of Cryptocurrencies Have Failed”
The cryptocurrency landscape has witnessed a significant number of project failures, with over 50% of all cryptocurrencies launched and listed since 2021 no longer actively trading. According to a recent report, out of nearly 7 million cryptocurrencies listed on GeckoTerminal, approximately 3.7 million have failed. Notably, the first quarter of 2025 alone accounted for 1.8 million of these failures, representing nearly half of all recorded project closures, the highest number of failures recorded in a single year.
According to Tangem: As of May 2025, there are over 37 million crypto tokens, and we’re on track to reach 100 million by the end of 2025. For context, there were fewer than 3,000 tokens in 2017–2018 and less than 500 in 2013–2014. How Many Cryptocurrencies Are There in 2025
Given the vast number of tokens created and the high attrition rate, it’s estimated that only a small fraction—possibly less than 0.1%—remain active or have any meaningful trading activity.
Common Factors Leading to Cryptocurrency Failures
- Lack of Utility or Purpose
Many failed projects lacked a clear use case or failed to deliver on promised functionalities, leading to diminished interest and eventual collapse. - Scams and Fraudulent Schemes
Projects like Bitconnect operated as Ponzi schemes, offering unsustainable returns and eventually collapsing under regulatory scrutiny and loss of investor confidence. - Regulatory and Legal Challenges
Initiatives such as KodakCoin faced regulatory hurdles and questions about their legitimacy, leading to indefinite delays and eventual shutdowns. - Security Vulnerabilities
The DAO, an early decentralized autonomous organization, suffered a significant hack due to code vulnerabilities, resulting in substantial financial losses and a controversial hard fork of the Ethereum blockchain. - Market Saturation and Low-Quality Projects
The ease of creating new tokens, especially with platforms like pump.fun, led to a flood of low-effort projects, many of which lacked substance and quickly failed.
Common Traits of Successful Cryptocurrencies
- Strong Community Engagement
Projects with active and engaged communities tend to have greater resilience and staying power. These communities, comprising users, developers, and investors, play a crucial role in promoting the cryptocurrency, providing feedback, and fostering adoption. - Clear Use Cases
Cryptocurrencies that address real-world problems or offer unique value propositions are more likely to succeed. Whether it’s facilitating decentralized finance (DeFi), enhancing supply chain transparency, or enabling NFT transactions, a well-defined purpose resonates with users and investors. - Robust Technology and Security
Projects that prioritize technological robustness and security are better positioned for long-term success. For instance, Firo (formerly Zcoin) implemented advanced privacy protocols like Lelantus Spark and addressed security challenges proactively. - Grassroots Community and Brand Building
Coordinated efforts around early brand building, grassroots outreach, consistent messaging, peer-to-peer education, and no hype.
The Success or Failure of a Cryptocurrency Project Hinges on Several Factors
- Utility and Purpose
Projects must address real-world problems or offer unique value. - Community Engagement
Active and supportive communities can drive adoption and resilience. - Technological Robustness
Security and reliability are paramount. - Regulatory Compliance
Navigating legal landscapes is crucial for longevity. - Market Differentiation
In a saturated market, standing out with quality and innovation is essential. - Compelling Brand Building
Strong brand story and brand building with a peer-to-peer education and adoption approach.
Understanding these factors can provide valuable insights for investors and developers aiming to navigate the complex world of cryptocurrencies.
Marketing Traits in Failed Projects
- Overhyped, Under-Delivered
Projects like Bitconnect and SafeMoon used exaggerated promises (e.g., “guaranteed returns”, “to the moon” slogans). This kind of hype attracted short-term investors, but collapsed when the tech or tokenomics failed to back it up. - Celebrity Shilling Without Substance
Endorsements from influencers or celebrities (e.g., Floyd Mayweather, DJ Khaled) led to short-term pump-and-dump schemes. - Expensive Ad Buys and Paid Public Relations by Third-Party Companies (Not Part of the Community)
Without real utility, these coins lost value once public interest faded. - Lack of Target Audience Understanding
Many projects launched with vague or generic messages, which failed to articulate a unique reason to exist. Tokens like KodakCoin tried to capitalize on buzzwords (e.g., blockchain + photography) without a real strategy. - No Post-Launch Marketing Plan
Projects that spent heavily on ICO hype but went silent afterward often lost momentum and investor confidence.
Kaspa’s Success
Transparent, Developer-Led Communication
Kaspa’s lead developers and researchers are publicly known, frequently communicating on X (Twitter), and openly discuss challenges, milestones, and ambitions via AMAs, videos, and conference keynotes. The open-source nature of Kaspa’s development invites scrutiny and collaboration, strengthening credibility.
Understated, Yet Strategic Branding
The simple, yet iconic logo and brand narrative stands out in the sea of other coins and tokens.
Real-world adoption narratives like The “Kaspa Accepted Here” initiative builds real-world adoption at the grassroots level, one merchant at a time.
The “Powered by Kaspa” initiative flips the coin to focus on enterprise markets looking for a powerful, decentralized DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology).
No ICO. No flashy launch. No empty promises — just steady, transparent rollout and growing real-world relevance.
Long-Term Vision Over Hype
Kaspa’s outreach narrative focuses on both the currency and DLT layers for the digital future, not a fleeting trend. Its monetary policy is fixed and simple, appealing to those tired of manipulated tokenomics and rug-pull mechanics. The focus on infrastructure, not speculation, gives Kaspa a foundation similar to Bitcoin — but with modern capabilities.
Community-Driven and Organic Growth
Kaspa’s marketing is bottom-up, not top-down.
The community is the core marketing engine — creating articles, creative educational content, explainer videos, and grassroots campaigns with consistent support from coordinated daily efforts by the Rhubarbarians and the CMF (Community Marketing Fund). This builds authentic engagement and avoids the artificial hype seen in many failed tokens. Instead of influencer-driven pumps, Kaspa has cultivated a loyal and technically-literate base that amplifies its strengths.
Projects like SafeMoon leaned heavily on influencer hype and flashy promises, with little community depth beyond price speculation.
Value-First Messaging
Kaspa doesn’t advertise price narratives. Instead, it leads with proven technological features:
- Instant transaction finality
- High throughput (10+ BPS)
- Scalability via blockDAG architecture
- Permissionless monetary network
Kaspa ships when it’s ready. It has long proven its slow and steady philosophy, delivering on all tasks with no stalls, no downtimes and a consistently improved network.
This appeals to developers, entrepreneurs, and long-term users — not just traders.
Many defunct coins marketed unrealistic financial returns or chased fads without backing utility or bridging to the existing TradFi system, and ignored sustainable, stable DeFi solutions.
Why Kaspa is Succeeding
Kaspa avoids the traps that killed thousands of coins — overpromising, underdelivering, hype with no utility. Instead, Kaspa focuses on the technology, while its marketing and narrative emphasize credibility, community, and capability — which is exactly why it’s still growing while most others have failed.
Kaspa distinguishes itself in the cryptocurrency landscape through a combination of technological innovation, transparent leadership, community-driven marketing, and real-world applicability.
These factors collectively contribute to its resilience and growth, contrasting sharply with the multitude of projects that have faltered.
Technological Innovation and Real Utility
Many failed projects lacked substantive technological foundations or failed to deliver on their promises. Kaspa, however, offers:
- BlockDAG Architecture: Enables high throughput with 10+ blocks per second, facilitating rapid transaction confirmations.
- Instant Confirmation and Finality: Transactions achieve finality within seconds, enhancing user experience and trust.
- Scalability: Designed to scale without compromising decentralization or security.
Transparent Leadership and Open-Source Development
Transparency is pivotal in building trust within the crypto community. Kaspa’s development is led by highly-documented academic and respected figures in blockchain research, ensuring credible leadership where they are publicly known and academically recognized, fostering confidence among users and developers. Through its open-source culture, Kaspa encourages community contributions and scrutiny, enhancing the project’s robustness.
Community-Driven/Non-Traditional Marketing
Kaspa’s growth is also propelled by its community through:
- Grassroots Engagement: Community members actively create educational content, promote adoption, and support development. There are 1000’s of Kaspa content creators on X, YouTube. (Kaspa_Commons follows many of them and more each day, so please support these amplifying Kaspa daily!)
- Authentic Promotion: Relies on organic growth rather than paid endorsements or hype-driven campaigns.
- Quality and Consistent Messaging: Simple, quality, and contextualized messaging. Community-driven content expands as the project matures.
Sound Economic Model
Kaspa employs a straightforward and transparent economic model:
- Fair Launch: No premine or initial coin offering, ensuring equitable distribution.
- Predictable Emission Schedule: Similar to Bitcoin’s deflationary model, with a more rapid emissions schedule, providing long-term value stability.
Real-World Applicability and Adoption
Kaspa focuses on practical use cases:
- Local Merchant and Enterprise Adoption: Initiatives like “Kaspa Accepted Here” and “Powered by Kaspa” promote real-world usage.
- User-Friendly Tools: Easy-to-use wallets and integration options to facilitate everyday transactions.
- Attracting Developers and Real-World Markets: Amplifying developer opportunities through the core project or via foundations like the Kaspa Ecosystem Foundation — inviting them into its ecosystem early on to build the next generation of DApps for DePIN, RWA, and DeFi. Pushing the boundaries of real-world adoption through initiatives like the Kaspa Industrial Initiative.
- Special Thanks to Kasplex, IgraLabs and other developers joining the project and building out the ecosystem
This practical approach ensures relevance and utility, unlike many projects that failed to move beyond speculative trading.
Kaspa’s continued success is attributed to its commitment to technological excellence, transparent governance, community engagement, sound economics, and real-world utility. These elements collectively foster a sustainable and trustworthy ecosystem, setting it apart from the multitude of projects that have failed due to lack of substance, transparency, and utility.