The Cult of Crypto: How True Believers Lose Money Defending…
By Damilola Esebame
AI summary of the source article
Dozens of crypto projects shut down in 2026, including several venture-backed ventures. Researchers and trackers highlight widespread project failures driven by psychological biases, community echo chambers, and lack of economic viability.
Key facts
- Researcher Stacy Muur tallied 82 crypto project shutdowns in 2026, while DeFiLlama identified 100 closures by August.
- Three Andreessen Horowitz-backed projects—Yupp, Syndicate Labs, and Entropy—raised $87 million before shutting down in the first half of 2026.
- CoinGecko reported in April 2025 that 52.7% of about seven million tokens listed on its GeckoTerminal tracker since 2021 had died.
Source excerpt · FinanceFeeds
KEY TAKEAWAYS Eighty-two crypto projects shut down in 2026 according to researcher Stacy Muur’s tally, with DeFiLlama separately identifying 100 closures by August, including 40 in the preceding 90-day window alone. The sunk cost fallacy drives investors to hold declining tokens because they factor already lost capital into future decisions, even though those losses are completely irrecoverable, a…