List of Defunct Web3 Projects in 2023: Nearly $1 Billion Raised Collectively, with DeFi as the Hardest-Hit Sector
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List of Defunct Web3 Projects in 2023: Nearly $1 Billion Raised Collectively, with DeFi as the Hardest-Hit Sector
Over a hundred well-known projects collapsed before dawn...
Navigating Web3 tides with focused insightsCompilation: Gu Yu, Biscuit, RootData
As 2023 draws to a close, the long-awaited bull market has injected a surprising and heated momentum into the industry, bringing hope to projects struggling with financial difficulties. However, just before the bull run, numerous projects announced their demise due to funding, strategic, or other issues—including Prime Trust, Gomu, GRO Protocol, Stelo, Yield Protocol, Multichain, Clockwork, and Wyre—many of which were backed by top-tier venture capital firms.
RootData's "List of Dead Projects in 2023" includes approximately 120 projects that declared bankruptcy, ceased operations, or whose websites have been inaccessible for an extended period in 2023, collectively raising $940 million in funding.
Image from RootData compilation: "List of Dead Crypto Projects in 2023"
Analyzing the final statements of these defunct projects, their causes of death can be broadly categorized into five main reasons. Insufficient funding is the most prominent and direct cause, followed by lack of product-market fit, tightening regulatory policies, hacks, and parent company strategic shifts.
Below is the detailed list of deceased projects:
Infrastructure
Prime Trust
Prime Trust provided token and fiat custody, payment processing, anti-money laundering and KYC compliance, and trading technology services. On August 14, 2023, Prime Trust filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the United States, disclosing liabilities of up to $500 million and admitting severe financial insolvency.
Bytom
Bytom (BTM) is a smart contract platform based on the PoS+BBFT consensus algorithm, integrating a multi-asset protocol to bring assets onto the blockchain intelligently. On November 24, 2023, BytomDAO announced that BMC had suspended all deposit functions, urging users to withdraw any related assets promptly. Bytom will enter its third phase: fully pivoting from the public chain space toward AI and transforming into a tech-friendly project.
Sismo
Sismo is a modular proof protocol that issues ZK badges for reputation portability and aggregation.
On December 1, 2021, Sismo raised $10 million in funding, with participation from Delphi Digital, Fabric Ventures, and Framework Ventures. On December 8, 2023, Sismo founder Hadrien Charlanes stated that the team’s operations were unsustainable and they were returning funds to investors at a 51% repayment rate.
Tomb Chain
Tomb Chain is a Layer 2 network built on Fantom Opera using Optimistic Rollup technology.
Kotal
Kotal is building open-source tools and frameworks for managing the lifecycle of blockchain infrastructure and dApps—from deployment and integration to security, logging, and monitoring.
Gomu
Gomu is a Web3 developer tool offering APIs and SDKs to help users easily and securely build native Web3 applications and experiences.
On October 12, 2022, Gomu raised $5 million in a seed round led by Coinbase Ventures and DeFiance Capital.
CNHC Group
CNHC Group is the issuer of the CNHC stablecoin, pegged 1:1 to offshore Chinese yuan. The CNHC stablecoin launched in 2021 for use in transfers and cross-border trade settlements.
On March 15, 2023, CNHC Group closed a $10 million Series A1 round. On May 31, 2023, multiple sources reported that CNHC Group’s Shanghai office was sealed by authorities and the team was taken into police custody.
Linen
Linen is a self-custodial wallet powered by Gnosis Safe technology, secured with three keys.
On September 20, 2019, Linen raised funds from Polychain, Coinbase Ventures, HashKey Capital, and Wyre. On October 31, 2023, Linen announced it would cease operations, returning remaining funds to investors.
LBRY
LBRY is a protocol for accessing and publishing digital content in a global decentralized marketplace. On October 20, 2023, LBRY announced that LBRY Inc. was shutting down due to insurmountable debts owed to the SEC, its legal team, and private creditors. The LBRY network itself remains unaffected.
Boring Protocol
Boring Protocol is a decentralized virtual private network (VPN) and bandwidth marketplace with access to a globally distributed and growing network.
Nitro Network
Nitro Network uses LoRaWAN IoT devices to build decentralized private communication networks (PCNs), enabling users’ devices to communicate via 3G/4G/5G technologies.
On February 26, 2018, Nitro Network raised $40 million in funding from FBG Capital, Kenetic Capital, and others.
Slashauth
Slashauth is a Web3 developer platform providing login functionality, role-based access control, data storage, and more for any Web3-enabled application.
Clockwork
Clockwork is Solana’s decentralized automation network, allowing developers to schedule recurring tasks and automate on-chain workflows using Solana validators.
On August 30, 2022, Clockwork raised $4 million in a seed round co-led by Multicoin Capital and Asymmetric. On August 28, 2023, former Clockwork employee Nick stated that due to limited opportunity cost and bleak commercial prospects, the development team and he himself decided to stop developing the protocol.
Outlet Finance
Outlet powers personal finance apps built with DeFi. Investors in Outlet include Big Brain Holdings.
Nomics
Nomics is an API-first crypto asset data company providing professional-grade market data APIs for institutional crypto investors and exchanges.
On December 18, 2018, Nomics raised $3 million in funding from DCG, Polymath, Tokensoft, Coinbase Ventures, and others.
Numio
Numio is a mobile payment app built on Ethereum, supporting zkRollups on Google Play for instant, low-fee transfers.
On July 13, 2021, Numio raised $1.25 million in a seed round led by HashKey Capital, with LD Capital and ZMT Capital participating. On February 7, 2023, Numio announced it was ceasing operations due to inability to secure follow-on funding.
CeFi
Hotbit
Hotbit is a cryptocurrency exchange. On May 22, 2023, Hotbit announced it would cease operations and urged all users to withdraw remaining assets.
Hotbit cited deteriorating business conditions, persistent outflows of user funds from CEXs including itself, shifting trends in the crypto industry that no longer aligned with long-term viability, and repeated cyberattacks and vulnerabilities exploited by malicious actors as reasons for shutdown.
Ankex
Ankex is a new hybrid cryptocurrency exchange that uses multi-party computation (MPC) to split and distribute users' private keys across data centers.
Txbit
Txbit is a Dutch cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2016. In August 2023, the exchange announced it would permanently shut down.
Cabital
Cabital is a crypto asset yield management platform offering three main currencies: BTC/ETH/USDT. Cabital focuses on fixed deposits in stablecoins, BTC, and ETH, avoiding the high risks associated with frequent trading.
On September 2, 2021, Cabital raised $4 million in a seed round with participation from SIG, Dragonfly, and GSRV.
Bittrex
Bittrex is a cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2014. It ceased operations on December 4, 2023, disabling all trading activities.
BKEX
BKEX is a cryptocurrency exchange supporting over 1,000 trading pairs and offering leverage from 1x to 100x.
CoinLoan
CoinLoan is a lending platform using crypto assets as collateral, aiming to meet demands unfulfilled by traditional credit systems. On April 25, CoinLoan announced it had halted all user withdrawals and operations.
Pillow
Pillow is a digital asset management app helping users save, spend, and invest in cryptocurrencies.
Pillow raised $21 million in two funding rounds during 2022. On June 23, 2023, Pillow announced it would halt all services due to regulatory uncertainty.
Wyre
Wyre is a fiat-to-crypto and payments infrastructure provider within the crypto ecosystem, founded in 2013, having completed five funding rounds. On June 17, 2023, Wyre announced it would gradually shut down, clarifying the decision was not due to any regulatory directive.
Earnity
Earnity created a curated financial market for tokens, enabling everyone to learn, save, and earn in simple and intuitive ways.
Hopex
Hopex aimed to build a secure, fair, and reliable cryptocurrency derivatives trading platform. On February 1, 2023, Hopex announced it would cease operations due to major business restructuring.
LocalBitcoins
LocalBitcoins is a P2P cryptocurrency trading platform. On February 9, 2023, LocalBitcoins announced it would cease operations.
Lazerpay
Lazerpay is a blockchain-powered payment solution enabling businesses to accept payments in stablecoins from anyone worldwide. On April 13, 2023, Lazerpay ceased operations due to inability to raise additional funds.
TradeBlock
TradeBlock is an API-centric end-to-end platform enabling institutions to streamline their crypto trading workflows through specialized pre-trade, execution, post-trade, and reporting solutions.
On July 16, 2014, TradeBlock raised $2.8 million in funding led by a16z Crypto, with participation from DCG, FinTech Collective, and DCVC. In January 2021, TradeBlock was acquired by CoinDesk, and finally ceased operations on May 25, 2023.
Galois Capital
Galois Capital is a crypto hedge fund focused on OTC trading and algorithmic market making. On November 12, 2022, Galois Capital informed investors that nearly half of its assets—about $100 million—were trapped on the FTX platform.
On February 20, 2023, Galois Capital decided to halt all trading, liquidate all positions, return 90% of client funds not trapped on FTX, and temporarily withhold the remaining 10%.
Coin Cloud
Coin Cloud is a two-way cryptocurrency machine network offering services to buy and sell Bitcoin and other digital currencies. On February 8, 2023, Coin Cloud disclosed liabilities between $100 million and $500 million and announced it would cease operations.
Paxful
Paxful is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange. On April 4, 2023, Paxful announced it would cease operations due to co-founders litigating against each other and allegations of fund misappropriation and money laundering.
Silvergate
Silvergate is a Federal Reserve member bank established in 1988. In 2013, when Bitcoin first surpassed $1,000, Silvergate quickly recognized the business opportunity and became a crypto-friendly bank.
In November 2022, the collapse of FTX became a critical turning point for Silvergate. On March 9, 2023, Silvergate announced it would cease operations.
DeFi
Multichain
Multichain is a cross-chain router protocol designed to meet the clear need for different blockchains to communicate. Multichain aims to become the ultimate router for Web3.
On December 21, 2021, Multichain raised $60 million at a $1.2 billion valuation, led by Binance Labs. On July 14, 2023, the Multichain team revealed that CEO Zhao Jun was taken away by police from his home on May 12 and had since lost contact with the team. Funds were transferred by the founder’s relatives, forcing the team to halt operations.
Minerva
Minerva is a derivatives exchange built on Optimism, similar to GMX, supported by a unique multi-asset pool that earns fees for liquidity providers from market making, swap fees, and leveraged trading.
Themis
Themis is a decentralized lending protocol allowing users to borrow stablecoins and blue-chip assets by pledging their liquidity positions.
On November 9, 2021, Themis raised $2 million in a seed round with participation from DAOMaker, NFX, LD Capital, Chain Financial, and 0xBilly.
DeZy
DeZy simplifies decentralized finance in a secure and straightforward way, enabling users to achieve meaningful savings, income growth, and wealth accumulation.
On January 3, 2022, DeZy raised $2.2 million in a Pre-A round led by Leo Capital, with DeFiance Capital participating. On November 17, 2023, DeZy announced it would cease operations.
HIPO
HIPO is a native liquidity protocol on Arbitrum supporting derivative tokens as collateral. It offers fixed-term and fixed-rate lending.
GRO Protocol
GRO Protocol is a stablecoin yield aggregator whose products include the PWRD stablecoin with deposit protection and yield, and Vaults offering leveraged stablecoin yields.
On March 30, 2021, GRO Protocol raised $7.1 million in a seed round led by Galaxy Digital and Framework Ventures, with Variant Fund and Three Arrows Capital participating. On September 20, 2023, GRO Protocol announced it would cease operations.
xToken
xToken is building a capital markets and liquidity management platform serving any project with on-chain operations.
On May 12, 2021, xToken suffered a hack resulting in a $24 million loss. In November 2021, it raised $2 million in funding from Origin Capital, Lattice Capital, and others. On September 13, 2023, xToken announced it would cease operations.
Many Exchange
Many Exchange is a cross-chain, decentralized exchange powered by Polkadot.
SkyLaunch
SkyLaunch is a multi-chain IDO platform connecting projects with tools, financial support, and networks.
On October 28, 2021, SkyLaunch raised $1.4 million in funding from AU21 Capital, Waterdrip Capital, GSR, X21 Digital, and others.
Housecat
Housecat is a mirror trading protocol on Polygon allowing anyone to synchronously replicate the positions and trades of other wallet addresses on the Polygon blockchain.
On February 16, 2022, Housecat raised $3.5 million in funding from BlueYard Capital, Inflection, Notation Capital, and others. On March 13, 2023, Housecat announced it would cease operations.
Grim Finance
Grim Finance is a smart yield optimizer platform allowing users to stake in Smart Grim Vaults to automatically harvest and re-stake for compounding returns.
On December 18, 2021, Grim Finance suffered a hack resulting in a $30 million loss.
Yield Protocol
Yield Protocol is a decentralized lending protocol introducing fixed-term, fixed-rate loans to DeFi.
On June 23, 2021, Yield Protocol raised $10 million in a Series A round led by Paradigm, with participation from Framework Ventures, CMS Holdings, Alliance DAO, and Variant Fund. On October 3, 2023, Yield Protocol announced it would cease operations.
Fuji Finance
Fuji Finance is a lending aggregator optimizing users’ DeFi costs by automatically refinancing loans across different markets.
On April 27, 2021, Fuji Finance raised $1.25 million in a seed round at a $12 million valuation. On September 21, 2023, Fuji Finance announced it would shut down the protocol and cease operations. Users must withdraw funds via the Fuji interface by December 31, 2023; starting in 2024, users will need to interact directly with smart contracts.
Arable Protocol
Arable Protocol is a single-staking and trading platform for synthetic assets, enabling multi-chain single staking on a single platform.
Warp Finance
Warp Finance allows liquidity providers to use unused LP tokens as collateral for borrowing. On December 18, 2020, Warp Finance suffered a hack resulting in a $7.8 million loss.
Hundred Finance
Hundred Finance is a multi-chain lending protocol integrating vote-escrowed tokenomics under protocol-governed cross-chain management.
On April 15, 2023, Hundred Finance suffered a hack resulting in a $7 million loss. On August 10, following the community vote on the “April Attack Incident Resolution Plan,” Hundred Finance halted protocol operations. The proposal also included allocating treasury assets to victims and auctioning held NFTs for fund distribution.
Saddle Finance
Saddle is a decentralized automated market maker (AMM) optimized for trading stable-value crypto assets with minimal slippage.
Saddle Finance raised a total of $11.8 million across two funding rounds, with participation from Framework Ventures, Polychain, Electric Capital, Coinbase Ventures, and Dragonfly. On August 9, 2023, Saddle Finance announced it would cease operations and distribute liquidation proceeds to investors. Founder Sunil Srivatsa noted that the prior Curve hack reminded the Saddle team of ever-present exploit threats.
AutoFarm
AutoFarm is an aggregator protocol focused on providing automatic compound yields for DeFi users, while saving gas costs through optimized smart contract code and yield strategies.
Kannagi Finance
Kannagi is a yield aggregator on the zkSync Era network. Kannagi Finance’s primary product is a “Vault” where users deposit assets. On July 29, 2023, Kannagi Finance suffered a rug pull, and its official Twitter account was deactivated.
Zircon
Zircon is a DEX platform based on AMM liquidity pools. Unlike other DEXs, on Zircon, users can choose to stake only one asset per pair instead of being forced to provide both sides. On March 18, Zircon’s deployments on Moonriver and BSC were both hacked.
Phezzan Protocol
Phezzan is a perpetual contract DEX on zkSync 2.0, bringing retail liquidity to order books. Its founder Roland reflected on the lessons learned from Phezzan Protocol’s failure, covering fundraising, team building, and community operations.
Enchanter Finance
Enchanter Finance is a community-based DEX on Aptos.
EZ Finance
EZ Finance is a leveraged yield farming aggregator built on Aptos and Sui. On January 19, 2023, EZ Finance raised $210,000 in a private sale at a $10 million valuation.
Geist Finance
Geist is a decentralized, non-custodial liquidity market protocol where users can participate as depositors or borrowers.
On July 14, 2023, Geist Finance announced it would cease operations due to Multichain confirming that funds could not be recovered.
Algofi
Algofi is a one-stop DeFi shop on Algorand, offering users a DEX, lending markets, and a stablecoin.
On December 1, 2021, Algofi raised $2.8 million in a seed round co-led by Pillar VC, USV, and Arrington Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Y Combinator, and Jump Crypto. On July 11, 2023, Algofi announced it would gradually cease operations and shut down all social media accounts except its Discord channel.
Tonic
Tonic is an order book-based trading platform on NEAR, allowing anyone to create markets for any asset on NEAR L1 or Aurora.
On April 26, 2022, Tonic raised $5 million in funding co-led by Electric Capital and MOVE Capital, with participation from dao5, Framework Ventures, and Wintermute.
ARX
ARX is a fully decentralized and self-custodial P2P fiat exchange protocol focused on user protection mechanisms without moderators or centralized parties. On July 7, 2023, ARX announced it would cease operations.
paprMEME
Papr is an NFT lending protocol powered by Uniswap V3. On February 20, 2023, paprMEME raised $3 million in funding with participation from Coinbase Ventures. In June of the same year, paprMEME announced it would cease operations and discontinue some interfaces, though the Backed protocol, community NFTs, and paprMEME would continue to exist.
UPFI
UPFI aims to provide a highly scalable, decentralized algorithmic currency to replace fixed-supply digital assets.
Pizza
Pizza is a decentralized lending platform built on EOS. On February 16, 2023, Pizza announced it would cease operations due to policy and other risk factors.
Vovo Finance
Vovo Finance is a structured products protocol on Ethereum Layer 2, earning yields from Curve Finance and engaging in high-leverage trading on GMX.
On April 12, 2022, Vovo Finance raised $2 million in a seed round led by IOSG Ventures, with Matrixport Ventures and Zee Prime Capital participating. On May 16, 2023, Vovo Finance announced it would cease operations due to declining DeFi yields.
Friktion
Friktion is an on-chain full-stack portfolio and risk management platform for individuals, institutional managers, and DAOs.
On January 13, 2022, Friktion raised $5.5 million in funding from DeFiance Capital, Jump Crypto, Delphi Digital, and others. On January 27, 2023, Friktion announced it would shut down its frontend website and advised users to retrieve their assets.
Everlend
Everlend is a lending aggregator powered by Solana, supporting multiple assets and money markets.
On August 18, 2022, Everlend raised $2.6 million in strategic funding from GSR, Portico VC, Serum, and others. On February 2, 2023, Everlend announced it would cease operations.
NFT
Async Art
Async Art is a Web3 creator platform for innovative artists, musicians, and brands. Its Blueprint system enables the creation of generative NFTs without coding.
On February 18, 2021, Async Art raised $2 million in a seed round led by Lemniscap, with Semantic Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, Collab+Currency, and others participating. On October 23, 2023, Async Art announced it would cease operations.
Versum
Versum is an NFT platform and metaverse on the Tezos blockchain, aiming to redefine the art experience within the NFT space.
On October 6, 2023, Versum announced it would cease operations.
Cardinal
Cardinal is a Solana-based protocol enabling conditional ownership of NFTs, powering them through leasing, subscriptions, staking, tickets, and more.
On July 23, 2022, Cardinal raised $4.4 million in a seed round led by Protagonist and Solana Ventures. On June 29, 2023, Cardinal announced it would gradually shut down the protocol, citing a difficult macroeconomic environment.
Voice
Voice is a digital art marketplace for emerging artists, empowering artists from all walks of life to build sustainable art practices.
On March 26, 2020, Voice raised $150 million in funding from Block.one. On September 14, 2023, Voice stated that due to ongoing uncertainty in the crypto and NFT markets, it would gradually shut down its operations.
Glass Protocol
Glass Protocol is a video NFT platform allowing users to create, collect, and sell video NFTs.
On September 27, 2022, Glass Protocol raised $5 million in a seed round led by TCG Crypto and 1kx. On September 9, 2023, Glass announced it would terminate development, with the founder stating that demand for video NFTs was unsustainable and further development impossible.
RECUR
RECUR builds end-to-end custom experiences for the world’s largest brands and IPs, enabling fans to purchase, collect, and resell NFTs.
On March 25, 2021, RECUR raised $5 million in a seed round led by Alliance DAO. On September 13 of the same year, RECUR raised $50 million in a Series A round at a $333 million valuation. On August 19, 2023, RECUR announced it would cease operations.
GEN.ART
GEN.ART is an on-chain generative art platform dedicated to enabling artists to release their artwork to members on the blockchain. On August 12, 2023, GEN.ART announced it would shut down operations, distributing remaining treasury funds to DAO token holders.
Swap.net
Swap.net is an NFT marketplace for professional traders, offering airdrops to NFT traders.
On April 21, 2022, Swap.net raised $1.75 million in an angel round with participation from FBG Capital and Big Brain Holdings.
Formfunction
Formfunction is a digital art marketplace on Solana, launching its mainnet in January 2022.
On March 17, 2022, Formfunction raised $4.7 million in a seed round led by Variant Fund, with Solana Ventures and OpenSea Ventures participating. On March 15, 2023, Formfunction announced it would cease operations.
Gaming & Metaverse
MetaPoint
MetaPoint is a blockchain-based virtual world where players can engage in farming, business, construction, finance, gaming, entertainment, and other virtual reality activities, gaining both enjoyment and economic rewards.
Pax.world
Pax.world is an open metaverse platform offering advanced audio, video, chat features, and avatars with cutting-edge technical specifications.
On February 14, 2022, Pax.world raised $5.8 million in a seed round with participation from Shima Capital, DFG, AU21 Capital, and Jump Trading.
The Parallel
The Parallel is a decentralized virtual world game similar to The Sandbox, where players can play, create, collect, trade, and earn the platform’s native token PRL and NFTs.
On December 15, 2021, The Parallel raised $4.3 million in funding with participation from Kyber Ventures, Signum Capital, OKX Ventures, and others.
AQUA
AQUA is a Web3 gaming marketplace providing content and tools for players to buy, sell, and trade game NFTs.
On September 28, 2022, AQUA received a $10 million investment from DIGITAL. On November 17, 2023, AQUA announced it would cease operations.
Ascenders
Ascenders combines a story-driven open world with action-rich RPG gameplay, allowing players to choose between exploration, combat, and building within its game mode.
On March 8, 2022, Ascenders raised $6.4 million in a private sale led by Three Arrows Capital, Ryze Labs, and Merit Circle, with participation from DeFiance Capital, GuildFi, Momentum 6, and Zee Prime Capital. On October 6, 2023, Ascenders announced it would cease operations.
DeHorizon
DeHorizon is a metaverse gaming ecosystem allowing players to create, socialize, and enjoy blockchain-based games with friends.
On October 11, 2021, DeHorizon raised $8.5 million in a Pre-A round led by Sfermion, Dragonfly, and EVG, with participation from Anim
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