The number of failed crypto coins, by year (2013-2022)
Since the first big cryptocurrency boom in 2011, tens of thousands of cryptocurrencies have been launched on the market.
And although some cryptocurrencies performed wellothers have stopped being marketed or have ended up as failed or abandoned projects.
These graphs of CoinKickoff Break down the number of failed cryptocurrencies by the year they died and the year they started. The data covers a decade of coin busts from 2013 to 2022.
Methodology
What is the marker of a "dead" crypto coin?
This analysis reviewed data for failed cryptocurrencies listed on Coinopsy and compared to CoinMarketCap to verify past market activity. The reason for death for each coin was also tabulated, including:
- Failed Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
- Abandoned with less than $1,000 in trade volume over a three month period
- Scams or coins that were intended to be a hoax
Dead Crypto Coins from 2013 to 2022
While many familiar crypto currencies (Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum) are still on the market today, there were at least 2,383 cryptocurrencies that bit the dust between 2013 and 2022.
Here is a breakdown of how many crypto coins died each year by reason:
| dead coins by year |
Abandoned / without volume |
scams / Other issues |
failed ICO / Ephemeral |
Joke / No aim |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 277 | twenty | 5 | 2 |
| 2015 | 223 | 27 | 1 | 2 |
| 2016 | 152 | 22 | 4 | 5 |
| 2017 | 169 | 71 | 46 | 6 |
| 2018 | 390 | 237 | 112 | 12 |
| 2019 | 203 | 73 | 51 | 2 |
| 2020 | 77 | 19 | 9 | 0 |
| 2021 | 3. 4 | 36 | 2 | 2 |
| 2022 | fifty | 23 | 8 | 2 |
| Total | 1,584 | 528 | 238 | 33 |
Abandoned coins with stagnant trading volume accounted for 1,584 o 66.5% of cryptographic flaws analyzed during the last decade. Comparatively, 22% ended up as fraudulent coins and 10% did not launch after an ICO.
Looking at individual years, 2018 saw the highest total yearly declines in the crypto market, with 751 dead crypto coins. More than half of them were abandoned by investors, but 237 coins were revealed as scams or involved in other controversiesas BitConnect which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.
Why was 2018 such a big year for crypto flaws?
This is largely due to Bitcoin prices rising above $1,000 for the first time last year with an eventual peak near $19,000. As a result, speculation spiked, new crypto issuance skyrocketed, and many investors and companies were bullish on the market for the first time.
How many newly released coins died?
Of the hundreds of coins that were released in 2017, more than half were considered missing by the end of 2022.
In fact, many previously released coins have since died. Most of the coins released between 2013 and 2017 have already become "dead coins" by the end of 2022.
| Start year of the coin | Dead Coins by 2022 |
|---|---|
| 2013 | 66.67% |
| 2014 | 76.54% |
| 2015 | 68.42% |
| 2016 | 60.87% |
| 2017 | 57.14% |
| 2018 | 27.62% |
| 2019 | 4.74% |
| 2020 | 1.03% |
| 2021 | 0.59% |
| 2022 | 0.06% |
Part of this is because the cryptocurrency field itself was still being worked out. Many coins were launched at a time of experimentation and innovation, but also volatility and uncertainty.
However, the trend began to change in 2018. Only 27.62% of coins released in that year have bitten the dust so far, with failure rates in 2019 and 2020 falling further to just 4.74% and 1.03% of coins released, respectively.
This suggests that the crypto industry has be more mature and stable, with newer projects setting up more securely and investors becoming more aware of potential scams.
How will this trend evolve towards 2023 and beyond?
This article was published as part of Visual Capitalist's Program for creatorsfeaturing data-driven images from some of our favorite creators from around the world.
