By The Numbers: How Many Altcoins Died In The Past 10 Years, Report Shows

Rubmar Garcia

Last Updated: June 11, 2024 8:52 am

3 mins read

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CoinGecko’s most recent report details the failure rate of cryptocurrencies in the last 10 years. Exhibiting the increasing number of “dead” altcoins over the years as projects deactivate, rebrand, lose trading activity, or are revealed to be scams.

An 11.01% Failure Rate For The Altcoin Sector

The first half of the ten-year period that CoinGecko studied showed 1,546 dead cryptocurrencies, 11.01%% of the total amount.

2014 saw the death of 37 cryptocurrencies, 2015 had a lower number with only 27, and 2016 closed this period with 32 dead coins. The 2014-2016 period saw the death of 96 cryptocurrencies in three years, accounting for less than 1% of the total of altcoins that have died over the last decade, as seen in the chart below.

Bitcoin Ethereum ETH ETHUSDT Altcoin Altcoins — The number of altcoins that failed since 2014. Source: CoinGecko

During the 2017-2018 Bull run, Almost 1,500 of the launched projects have since shut down, as CoinGecko explained:

In comparison, 1,450 projects launched during the 2017 – 2018 bull run have since shut down. This is on the back of over 3,000 cryptocurrencies listed, resulting in a similar failure rate of ~70%.

An Increase In Failed Projects Over The Last Five Years

The report shows that over 88% of the failed cryptocurrencies come from the second half of the period analyzed. Just 2019 increased 2018 year’s number by 50, reaching 1,150 failed cryptocurrencies and closely matching the total number of dead coins of the previous half.

However, most dead cryptocurrencies came from the 2020-2021 bull run. “Over 11,000 cryptocurrencies were listed on CoinGecko during the previous bull run, with ~70% having shut down since,” they detailed. 7,530 cryptocurrencies from launched projects during 2020-2021 have failed, accounting for 53,6% of all dead coins alone.

2021 is when cryptocurrencies suffered the most, with 5,724 dead coins—resulting in the worst year for projects launched, with over 70% of the cryptocurrencies listed having died as of January 2024.

The report attributes the high number of failures over 2020-2021 to the “ease of deploying tokens and the rise in popularity of meme coins.” They noted that many memecoin projects launch without a product, and most are “abandoned over a short period of time.”

In 2022, the number of failed projects declined from the previous year, with 3,520 dying. A 60% rate out of the total listed cryptocurrencies.

Ultimately, the number of failed projects declined further in 2023, as only 289 cryptocurrencies, out of the over 4,000 listed on CoinGecko, died. This represents a failure rate of <10%.

However, although the number of dead cryptocurrencies declined in the last two years, perhaps suggesting a more positive trend, the precise percentage of failed projects launched in 2023 stood at 289. It remains to be seen if the trend will be sustained over the coming months or if the rise of a new bull phase will push the nascent sector back into a spike in altcoin failures.

ETH is trading at $2,546.22 in the daily chart. Source: ETHUSDT on tradingview.com

Featured image from Unsplash.com, chart from TradingView.com

Rubmar Garcia

Rubmar is a writer and translator who has been a crypto enthusiast for the past four years. Her goal as a writer is to create informative, complete, and easily understandable pieces accessible to those entering the crypto space. After learning about cryptocurrencies in 2019, Rubmar became curious about the world of possibilities the industry offered, quickly learning that financial freedom was at the palm of her hand with the developing technology.

From a young age, Rubmar was curious about how languages work, finding special interest in wordplay and the peculiarities of dialects. Her curiosity grew as she became an avid reader in her teenage years. She explored freedom and new words through her favorite books, which shaped her view of the world. Rubmar acquired the necessary skills for in-depth research and analytical thinking at university, where she studied Literature and Linguistics. Her studies have given her a sharp perspective on several topics and allowed her to turn every stone in her investigations.

In 2019, she first dipped her toes in the crypto industry when a friend introduced her to Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, but it wasn’t until 2020 that she started to dive into the depth of the industry. As Rubmar began to understand the mechanics of the crypto sphere, she saw a new world yet to be explored.

At the beginning of her crypto voyage, she discovered a new system that allowed her to have control over her finances. As a young adult of the 21st century, Rubmar has faced the challenges of the traditional banking system and the restrictions of fiat money.

After the failure of her home country’s economy, the limitations of traditional finances became clear. The bureaucratic, outdated structure made her feel hopeless and powerless amid an aggressive and distorted system created by hyperinflation. However, learning about decentralization and self-custody opened a realm of opportunities. Cryptocurrencies allowed her to experience financial control for the first time and expand her financial education.

Moreover, the peculiar nature of the crypto community sparked Rubmar’s curiosity about the other layers of the industry. As a result, she found a particular interest in discovering the diverse perspectives of investors, market watchers, experts, and developers. Her attempts to better understand the crypto space made her realize the strong links of the community with other industries, enriching her perspective of the sector. As someone who spends most of her day online, Rubmar enjoys finding the points where the crypto world meets with her other passions and hobbies –or her favorite memes.

In her free time, she usually finds joy in different art forms. As a child, she enlisted in every extra-curricular activity in her hometown, including music classes, dancing, jewelry making, and the local chorus. Despite her many attempts to learn different instruments, Rubmar only knows how to play the xylophone, which she played for 7 years in her school’s marching band.

She also has a passion for learning new languages and cultures, having set the goal to learn another six languages – currently attempting to learn Italian and Korean. Scrapbooking, paper crafting, and bookbinding are her biggest interests outside of work, constantly taking classes and attending workshops to learn new techniques. The rest of her free time is spent stressing over football matches and transfer market news or feeding cats –hers or stray.

In summary, Rubmar seeks to present entertaining and educational pieces to be enjoyed by everybody, aiming to report on the latest news and offer a unique perspective while adding a meme or a pun whenever possible.

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