CoinGecko: 53%+ of the 20.2M crypto tokens launched since 2021 are now inactive, with 7.7M tokens failing in Q4 2025, after October 10's “liquidation cascade”
Over 13.4 million tokens have been erased between mid-2021 and 2025, according to a new analysis by CoinGecko. — What to know:Forums:SlashdotForums:Slashdot:53% of Crypto Tokens Launched Since 2021 Have Failed, Most in 2025
Context & Ripple Effects
The report places the recent washout in a longer record of token attrition: exchange removals and prolonged inactivity were already rising in 2023 token delistings, while an earlier ICO-era review found many funded projects never reached exchange listings.
What has changed is the scale implied by millions of launches since 2021 and the concentration of failures after a market shock. That reinforces the earlier gap between token issuance and lasting tradability.
First-order effects
- CoinGecko's figures make the post–October 10 liquidation cascade a clear marker for token failures, with 7.7 million tokens becoming inactive in Q4 2025.
- Holders and traders in affected tokens lose viable markets and price discovery, while token issuers that remain active face a more skeptical benchmark for durability.
Second-order effects
- Exchanges, data providers, and wallet interfaces have stronger incentive to remove or de-emphasize illiquid assets, continuing the pattern of tokens being delisted after extended inactivity.
- For new token launches, attention and liquidity become harder to win: market participants may favor assets with sustained trading and development over sheer issuance volume.
Third-order effects
- If high attrition persists through market downturns, crypto's token economy could become more bifurcated between a smaller set of durable, liquid assets and a large disposable long tail.
- The figures strengthen the case for evaluating token markets through survival and liquidity, not launch counts—a central feature of the crypto legitimacy gap.
The trend: Crypto markets are increasingly being judged by whether tokens retain liquidity and activity through volatility rather than by the volume of new launches.