Half of the cryptocurrencies tracked by the data aggregator CoinGecko have failed, with 2025 proving to be a particularly disastrous year. What can we take away from this analysis?
CoinGecko claims that half of all cryptocurrencies are already dead
The CoinGecko data aggregator conducted an analysis of cryptocurrencies launched since 2021. It tallied tokens that are no longer actively traded, grouping them by the year of their last active trade. Only tokens that recorded at least one transaction before becoming inactive were included. Additionally, regarding Pump.fun tokens, only those that left the launchpad and were listed on a DEX were included in the study.
The result is clear: more than half of the tokens launched since 2021 have died, totaling 13.4 million. Furthermore, 2025 was a disastrous year: it saw the failure of 11.6 million tokens, accounting for 86.7% of all failures:
An acceleration in token ‘deaths’ during 2025
Why was 2025 such a disastrous year?
The CoinGecko report is consistent with a recent report from Memento Research, which indicates that the vast majority of cryptocurrencies launched in 2025 saw their prices plummet. According to the data aggregator, the reasons are linked to volatility throughout the year:
This sharp decline in token survival rates could be linked to broader market turbulence throughout the year, which particularly affected the memecoin sector. […] The fourth quarter of 2025 alone saw the collapse of 7.7 million tokens, representing 34.9% of all project failures recorded.
The report indicates that the failures followed the “cascade of liquidations” that occurred on October 10, 2025. On that day, $19 billion in leveraged positions were liquidated within 24 hours.
These failures also come amid a wave of new token launches. In 2025, more than 20 million tokens were listed on CoinGecko… compared to just 428,000 in 2021. This demonstrates the considerable enthusiasm that drove the sector to the record prices of 2025, with memecoins exploding in number.
It’s also an indication that the overheating has subsided, and that we may have entered a prolonged phase of consolidation. 2026 could therefore be the year memecoins come to their senses.
