- Project statistics show that token inactivity exceeded 3.7 million tokens starting in 2021 and 2025 proved to be the year with the most failed tokens in project history.
- The user-friendly platform launched 7 million tokens per statistics however most of these tokens did not succeed in building long-term utility.
- Enhanced regulatory standards can emerge from both simple token issuance procedures and short-term sustainability problems in the system.
Research based on crypto project data demonstrates that over 50% of listed cryptocurrencies since 2021 resulted in failure while 2025 recorded the most failed tokens to date.Of nearly 7 million tokens tracked by GeckoTerminal, over 3.6 million have gone inactive. The increasing number of token market collapses demands attention regarding future market sustainability along with inadequate assessment procedures for new assets.
Almost 50% of all crypto project collapses during the past five years occurred in the first quarter of 2025 resulting in the loss of 1.8 million coins.The U.S. presidential transition in January 2025 made cryptocurrency face both a major market downturn and new problems while Trump regained control of the presidency.
Pump.fun Fuels Token Surge and Market Saturation
Crypto project failures witnessed a surge in numbers at the same time as Pump.fun launched their easy-to-use platform during 2024 for users who wanted to mint memes without extensive tech knowledge.The platform drove crypto project growth from less than 500,000 in 2021 to approximately 7 million projects up until early 2025. Pump.help created a simpler token development process yet led to numerous short-lived tokens which turned out to have no sustainable future.
Surge in Failed Crypto Projects Raises Regulatory Alarms
Crypto project failure numbers stayed below 500,000 during the period of 2021 to 2023. The combination of 2024 and the initial quarter of 2025 resulted in 1.4 million and then 1.8 million crypto project failures.Regulatory control remained minimal as speculators entered the market causing major market changes according to recorded numbers.
The inactive token count has reached more than half of the total supply which leads authorities to worry about digital assets entering and exiting markets without transparency. Many authorities may be contemplating reviews of token disclosure rules because the quick creation and fast disappearance of thousands of tokens has generated unclear scenarios.
