List of dead projects in the Web3 industry in 2023: With a cumulative financing of nearly $1 billion, DeFi is the hardest hit area

Entering the end of 2023, the long-lost bull market has injected some surprise and heat into the industry, and also brought hope to projects that are struggling with funds. However, on the eve of the bull market, a large number of projects were declared dead due to problems at the funding, strategic and other levels, including Prime Trust, Gomu, GRO Protocol, Stelo, Yield Protocol, Multichain, Clockwork, Wyre and other projects supported by leading venture capital institutions.

RootData's 2023 list of dead projects includes about 120 projects that declared bankruptcy in 2023, ceased operations, or had websites that were unusable for a long time, with a cumulative funding amount of $940 million.

Image from RootData compilation: "List of Dead Projects in the Crypto Industry in 2023"

Based on the "last words" of these death projects, the causes of death can be roughly summarized into 5 points, of which insufficient funds are the most important and direct cause, and other reasons include lack of product market fit, stricter regulatory policies, hacker attacks, etc., and strategic adjustment of the parent company.

Here is a detailed list of the items that died:

infrastructure

Prime Trust

Prime Trust provides token and fiat custody, fund processing, anti-money laundering and KYC compliance, and trading technology services. On August 14, 2023, Prime Trust filed for U.S. Chapter 11 bankruptcy with debts of up to $500 million and admitted to financial difficulties that arose into insolvency.

Bytom

Bytom is a smart contract platform based on the PoS+BBFT consensus algorithm, integrating multi-asset protocols and intelligently putting assets on the chain. On November 24, 2023, BytomDAO stated that BMC has suspended all deposit functions and that all users should withdraw any BMC-related assets in a timely manner. Bytom will enter the third phase: fully embracing AI from the public blockchain track to transforming into a technology-friendly project.

Earthquake

Sismo is a modular attestation protocol that issues ZK badges for reputation portability and aggregation.

On December 1, 2021, Sismo closed a $10 million funding round with participation from Delphi Digital, Fabric Ventures, Framework Ventures, and others. On December 8, 2023, Hadrien Charlanes, founder of Sismo, said that the team is operating unsustainably and is returning funds to investors (51%).

Tomb Chain

Tomb Chain is a Layer2 network of Fantom Opera with Optimistic Rollup.

Kotal

Kotal is building open-source tools and frameworks for managing the lifecycle of blockchain infrastructure and dApps from deployment, integration, security, logging, and monitoring.

Gomu

Gomu is a Web3 developer tool that provides APIs and SDKs to make it easy and secure for users to build native Web3 applications and experiences.

On October 12, 2022, Gomu closed a $5 million seed round with participation from Coinbase Ventures, DeFiance Capital, and others.

CNHC Group

CNHC Group is the issuer of the CNHC stablecoin, which is pegged 1:1 to the offshore yuan. The CNHC stablecoin was launched in 2021 for scenarios such as transfers and cross-border trade settlements.

On March 15, 2023, CNHC Group closed a $10 million Series A1 funding round. On May 31, 2023, multiple sources revealed that CNHC Group's Shanghai office was judicially seized and the team had been taken into custody by the police.

Linen

Linen is a self-custody wallet powered by Gnosis Safe's technology and secured with 3 keys.

On September 20, 2019, Linen closed a funding round with participation from Polychain, Coinbase Ventures, HashKey Capital, and Wyre. On October 31, 2023, Linen announced that it would cease operations and that the remaining funds would be returned to investors.

LBRY

LBRY is a protocol for accessing and publishing digital content in a global decentralized marketplace. On October 20, 2023, LBRY announced that LBRY Inc. was shut down due to unpayable debts to the SEC, its legal team, and private debtors, and that the LBRY network was not affected.

Boring Protocol

Boring Protocol is a decentralized virtual private network (VPN) and bandwidth marketplace with access to a globally distributed and growing network.

Nitro Network

Nitro Network uses LoRaWAN IoT devices to build a decentralized private communication network (PCN) that allows users' gadgets to communicate using 3G/4G/5G technology.

On February 26, 2018, Nitro Network closed a $40 million funding round with participation from FBG Capital, Kenetic Capital, and others.

Slashauth

Slashauth is a Web3 developer platform that provides login functionality, role-based access control, data storage, and more support for any Web3-enabled application.

Clockwork

Clockwork is Solana's decentralized automation network that enables developers to schedule repetitive tasks and automate on-chain workflows using the Solana validator network.

On August 30, 2022, Clockwork closed a $4 million seed round co-led by Multicoin Capital and Asymmetric. On August 28, 2023, Nick, a former Clockwork employee, stated that due to the opportunity cost and limited business prospects, the Clockwork development team and himself decided not to develop the agreement anymore.

Outlet Finance

The outlet uses DeFi to power personal finance apps built for everyone. Outlet investors include Big Brain Holdings.

Nomics

Nomics is an API-first crypto asset data company that provides professional-grade market data APIs to institutional crypto investors and exchanges.

On December 18, 2018, Nomics closed a $3 million funding round with participation from DCG, Polymath, Tokensoft, Coinbase Ventures, and others.

Numio

Numio is an Ethereum-based mobile payment app that supports zkRollups on Google Play for instant and low-fee transfers.

On July 13, 2021, Numio closed a $1.25 million seed round. Led by HashKey Capital, with participation from LD Capital, ZMT Capital, and others. On February 7, 2023, Numio announced that it was ceasing operations due to its inability to raise follow-on funding.

CeFi

Hotbit

Hotbit is a cryptocurrency trading platform. On May 22, 2023, Hotbit announced that it would cease operations and require all users to withdraw their remaining assets.

According to Hotbit, the reasons for the outage include the continued outflow of funds from Hotbit's CEX users, including deterioration in business conditions, changes in crypto industry trends that are unlikely to be in line with long-term trends, and Hotbit's repeated cyberattacks and the exploitation of project flaws by malicious users.

Ankex

Ankex is a new hybrid cryptocurrency exchange with an account system that uses multi-party computation (MPC) to split and decentralize customers' private keys across data centers.

Txbit

Txbit is a Dutch cryptocurrency exchange that was founded in 2016. In August 2023, the exchange announced that it would be permanently closed.

Cabital

Cabital is a crypto asset yield management platform that offers three main currencies: BTC/ETH/USDT. Cabital focuses on the fixed deposit of stablecoins, BTC, ETH and other cryptocurrencies to avoid the high risks that may arise from frequent trading.

On September 2, 2021, Cabital closed a $4 million seed round with participation from SIG, Dragonfly, and GSRV.

Bittrex

Bittrex is a cryptocurrency trading platform founded in 2014. Bittrex will end operations on December 4, 2023, and all trading activities will be disabled.

BKEX

BKEX is a cryptocurrency trading platform that supports more than 1,000 cryptocurrency trading pairs and provides users with leverage of 1-100x.

CoinLoan

CoinLoan is a crypto-asset-collateralized lending platform designed to meet needs that cannot be met by the traditional credit system. On April 25, CoinLoan announced that it would suspend all user withdrawals and operations.

Pillow

Pillow is a digital asset management app that helps users save, spend, and invest in cryptocurrencies.

Pillow raised a total of $21 million in two funding rounds in 2022. On June 23, 2023, Pillow plans to discontinue all services due to regulatory uncertainty.

Wyre

Wyre is a fiat cryptocurrency and payment infrastructure company in the cryptocurrency ecosystem founded in 2013 and has completed 5 rounds of funding. On June 17, 2023, Wyre announced that it would be gradually closed, stating that the decision was not due to instructions from any regulator.

Earnity

Earnity has built a curated financial market for tokens, so everyone can Xi learn, save, and earn in a simple and intuitive way.

Hopex

Hopex is committed to building a safe, fair and reliable digital currency derivatives trading platform. On February 1, 2023, Hopex announced that it would cease operations due to major business adjustments.

LocalBitcoins

LocalBitcoins is a P2P cryptocurrency trading platform. On February 9, 2023, LocalBitcoins announced that it would cease operations.

Lazerpay

Lazerpay is a blockchain-powered payment solution that enables businesses to accept payments from anyone, anywhere in the world, using stablecoins. On April 13, 2023, Lazerpay ceased operations due to its inability to raise more funds.

TradeBlock

TradeBlock's API-centric, end-to-end platform enables institutions to streamline their crypto asset trading workflows with purpose-built pre-trade, trade execution, post-trade, and reporting solutions.

On July 16, 2014, TradeBlock closed a $2.8 million funding round led by a16z Crypto with participation from DCG, FinTech Collective, DCVC, and others. In January 2021, TradeBlock was acquired by CoinDesk and finally ceased operations on May 25, 2023.

Galois Capital

Galois Capital is a crypto hedge fund focused on over-the-counter and algorithmic market making. On November 12, 2022, Galois Capital said in a letter to investors that nearly half of the company's assets (about $100 million) were trapped on the FTX platform and could not be withdrawn.

On February 20, 2023, Galois Capital decided to halt all trading, close all positions, and return 90% of the funds not trapped on FTX to clients after closing the fund, with the remaining 10% to be put on hold temporarily.

Coin Cloud

Coin Cloud is a two-way digital currency machine network that provides services for buying and selling Bitcoin and other digital currencies. On February 8, 2023, Coin Cloud announced that it would cease operations with liabilities of $100 million to $500 million.

Paxful

Paxful is a peer-to-peer cryptocurrency exchange. On April 4, 2023, Paxful announced that it would cease operations due to multiple allegations including the two co-creators against Bo Gong Gong and Paxful's alleged misappropriation of funds and money laundering.

Silvergate

Silvergate is a Federal Reserve member bank founded in 1988, and in 2013, Bitcoin crossed the $1,000 mark for the first time. Silvergate keenly smelled the opportunity to become a crypto-friendly bank.

In November 2022, the collapse of FTX was a watershed moment in Silvergate's development. On March 9, 2023, Silvergate announced that it would cease operations.

Defi

Multichain

Multichain is a cross-chain router protocol that addresses the explicit need of different blockchains to communicate with each other. Multichain aims to be the ultimate router for Web3.

On December 21, 2021, Multichain closed a $60 million funding round at a valuation of $1.2 billion, led by Binance Labs. On July 14, 2023, the Multichain team stated that its CEO, Zhao Jun, was taken away from his home by police on May 12 this year and has been out of contact with the Multichain team ever since. Funds were transferred by the founder's relatives, and the team was forced to cease operations.

Minerva

Minerva is an Optimism-based derivatives exchange, similar to GMX, backed by a unique multi-asset pool that earns liquidity provider fees from market making, exchange fees, and leveraged trading.

Themis

Themis is a decentralized lending protocol that allows users to stake their liquidity positions to borrow stablecoins and blue-chip assets.

On November 9, 2021, Themis was completed with participation in 200 万美元种子轮融资,DAOMaker,NFX,LD Capital,Chain Financial,0xBilly and others.

DeZy

DeZy empowers users to save, grow, and accumulate wealth meaningfully by simplifying decentralized finance in a secure and simple way.

On January 3, 2022, DeZy closed a $2.2 million Pre-A round led by Leo Capital with participation from DeFiance Capital and others. On November 17, 2023, DeZy announced that it would cease operations.

HICCUP

HIPO is the native liquidity protocol on Arbitrum that supports derivative tokens as collateral. It offers borrowing for a fixed term and at an interest rate.

GRO Protocol

GRO Protocol is a stablecoin yield aggregator whose products are PWRD stablecoins with deposit protection and yield, and Vault with leveraged stablecoin yields.

On March 30, 2021, GRO Protocol closed a $7.1 million seed round led by Galaxy Digital and Framework Ventures, with participation from Variant Fund, Three Arrows Capital, and others. On September 20, 2023, GRO Protocol announced that it would cease operations.

xToken

xToken is building a capital market and liquidity management platform to meet the needs of any project with an on-chain presence.

On May 12, 2021, xToken suffered a hack and lost $24 million. In November of the same year, xToken completed a $2 million funding round with participation from Origin Capital, Lattice Capital, and others. On September 13, 2023, xToken announced that it would cease operations.

Many Exchange

Many Exchange is a cross-chain, decentralized exchange powered by Polkadot.

SkyLaunch

SkyLaunch is a multi-chain IDO platform that connects projects with a network of tools, finance, and support.

On October 28, 2021, SkyLaunch was completed with 1.4 million yuan fusion, AU21 Capital, Waterdrip Capital, GSR, X21 Digital and others participated.

Housecat

Housecat is a Polygon-based mirror trading protocol that allows anyone to simultaneously copy the positions and transactions of other wallet addresses on the Polygon blockchain.

On February 16, 2022, Housecat closed a $3.5 million funding round with participation from BlueYard Capital, Inflection, Notation Capital, and others. On March 13, 2023, Housecat announced that it would cease operations.

Grim Finance

Grim Finance is a smart yield optimizer platform that allows users to stake in Smart Grim Vaults to automatically harvest and re-stake to create compounding effects.

On December 18, 2021, Grim Finance suffered a hack that resulted in a $30 million loss.

Yield Protocol

Yield Protocol is a decentralized lending protocol that brings fixed-term, fixed-rate loans to decentralized finance.

On June 23, 2021, Yield Protocol closed a $10 million Series A funding round led by Paradigm with participation from Framework Ventures, CMS Holdings, Alliance DAO, Variant Fund, and others. On 3 October 2023, Yield Protocol announced that it would cease operations.

Fuji Finance

Fuji Finance is a lending aggregator that optimizes users' costs in DeFi by automatically refinancing loans in different markets.

On April 27, 2021, Fuji Finance closed a $1.25 million seed round at a valuation of $12 million. On September 21, 2023, Fuji Finance announced that it would close the protocol and cease operations, and users must withdraw funds through the Fuji user interface by December 31, 2023, and users will need to interact directly with the smart contract from 2024.

Arable Protocol

Arable Protocol is a single-yield and trading platform for synthetic assets that enables multi-chain yields on a single platform.

Warp Finance

Warp Finance allows liquidity providers to use unused (LP) tokens as collateral for lending. On December 18, 2020, Warp Finance suffered a hacker attack that resulted in a loss of $7.8 million.

Hundred Finance

Hundred Finance is a multi-chain lending protocol that integrates voting custody tokenomics in the cross-chain management of protocol governance.

On April 15, 2023, Hundred Finance suffered a hack and lost $7 million. On August 10th, Hundred Finance stopped the operation of the protocol according to the results of the community vote on the "April Attack Incident Handling Plan". Other elements of the proposal include the distribution of treasury assets to victims, and the NFTs held will be publicly auctioned and funds distributed.

Saddle Finance

Saddle is a decentralized automated market maker (AMM) optimized for trading stable-value crypto assets with minimal slippage.

Saddle Finance has raised a total of $11.8 million in 2 rounds of funding, with participation from Framework Ventures, Polychain, Electric Capital, Coinbase Ventures, Dragonfly, and others. On August 9, 2023, Saddle Finance announced that it would cease operations and distribute the cleared funds to investors. Founder Sunil Srivatsa said the previous Curve hack was a reminder of the ever-present threat of exploitable vulnerabilities for the Saddle team.

AutoFarm

AutoFarm is an aggregator protocol focused on providing DeFi users with automatic compounding yields while saving gas costs through smart contract code and yield optimization strategies.

Kannagi Finance

Kannagi is the yield aggregator for the zkSync Era network. The main product offered by Kannagi Finance is a "vault" where users deposit their assets. On July 29, 2023, a Rug Pull occurred at Kannagi Finance, and its official Twitter account has been cancelled.

Zircon

Zircon is a DEX platform based on AMM liquidity pools. Unlike other DEXs, on Zircon, users can choose to stake only one asset per pair, rather than being forced to offer it to both parties. On March 18th, both Moonriver and BSC deployments of Zircon were hacked.

Phezzan Protocol

Phezzan is a perpetual contract DEX on zkSync 2.0 that brings retail liquidity to the order book. In this article, its founder, Roland, reflects on the lessons learned from the failure of Phezzan Protocol, covering fundraising, team building, community operations, and more.

Enchanter Finance

Enchanter Finance是 Aptos 上基于社区的 DEX。

EZ Finance

EZ Finance is a leveraged yield mining aggregator based on Aptos and Sui. On January 19, 2023, EZ Finance closed a $210,000 private placement round at a valuation of $10 million.

Geist Finance

Geist is a decentralized, non-custodial liquidity marketplace protocol where users can participate as depositors or borrowers.

On July 14, 2023, Geist Finance announced that it would cease operations due to Multichain's confirmation that the funds could not be recovered.

Algofi

Algofi is an Algorand-based one-stop DeFi store that provides users with DEXs, lending marketplaces, and stablecoins.

On December 1, 2021, Algofi closed a $2.8 million seed round co-led by Pillar VC, USV, Arrington Capital, with participation from Coinbase Ventures, Y Combinator, Jump Crypto, and others. On July 11, 2023, Algofi announced that it would be phasing out operations and shutting down all social media accounts except for Discord channels.

Tonic

Tonic is a NEAR-based order book trading platform that allows anyone to create a market for any asset on NEAR L1 or Aurora.

On April 26, 2022, Tonic closed a $5 million funding round co-led by Electric Capital and MOVE Capital, with participation from dao5, Framework Ventures, Wintermute, and others.

ARX

ARX is a fully decentralized and self-custodial P2P fiat currency exchange protocol designed to focus on "no moderator/no decentralized party" user protection mechanisms. On July 7, 2023, ARX announced that it would cease operations.

paprMEME

Papr is an NFT lending protocol powered by Uniswap V3. On February 20, 2023, paprMEME closed a $3 million funding round with participation from Coinbase Ventures. In June of the same year, paprMEME announced that it would cease operations and no longer support some interfaces, but the Backed protocol, community NFTs, and paprMEME would continue to exist.

UPFI

UPFI aims to provide a highly scalable, decentralized algorithmic currency to replace a fixed supply of digital assets.

Pizza

Pizza is an EOS-based decentralized lending platform. On February 16, 2023, Pizza announced that it would cease operations due to risk factors such as policies.

Vovo Finance

Vovo Finance is a structured product protocol based on Ethereum Layer 2, and its products receive yield from Curve Finance and are traded with high leverage on the GMX exchange.

On April 12, 2022, Vovo Finance closed a $2 million seed round led by IOSG Ventures with participation from Matrixport Ventures, Zee Prime Capital, and others. On May 16, 2023, Vovo Finance announced that it was ceasing operations due to declining DeFi yields.

Friction

Friktion is an on-chain full-stack portfolio and risk management platform for individuals, institutional managers, and DAOs.

On January 13, 2022, Friktion closed a $5.5 million funding round with participation from DeFiance Capital, Jump Crypto, Delphi Digital, and others. January 27, 2023 Friktion announced that it would be shutting down the front-end website, advising users to get their assets back.

Everlend

Eever is a lending aggregator powered by Solana that supports multiple asset and money markets.

On August 18, 2022, Everlend closed a strategic financing of $2.6 million, with participation from GSR, Portico VC, Serum, and others. On February 2, 2023, Everlend announced that it would cease operations.

NFT

Async Art

Async Art is a Web3 creator platform for innovative artists, musicians, and brands. Its blueprint system creates a template to create generative NFTs without the need for code.

On February 18, 2021, Async Art closed a $2 million seed round led by Lemniscap with participation from Semantic Ventures, Galaxy Interactive, Collab+Currency, and others. On October 23, 2023, Async Art announced that it would cease operations.

Versum

Versum is an NFT platform and metaverse on the Tezos blockchain with the goal of redefining the art experience within the NFT space.

On October 6, 2023, Versum announced that it would cease operations.

Cardinal

Cardinal is a Solana-based protocol that enables conditional ownership of NFTs, powering NFTs through rentals, subscriptions, staking, tickets, and more.

On July 23, 2022, Cardinal closed a $4.4 million seed round led by Protagonist and Solana Ventures. On June 29, 2023, Cardinal said it would phase down the protocol and blamed the difficult macro environment for its closure.

Voice

Voice is a digital art marketplace for emerging artists, empowering artists from all walks of life to build sustainable art practices.

On March 26, 2020, Voice closed a $150 million funding round with Block.one as an investor. September 14, 2023 Voice said it would gradually shut down Voice's business due to the ongoing uncertainty in the cryptocurrency and NFT markets.

Glass Protocol

Glass Protocol is a video NFT platform where users can create, collect, and sell video NFTs.

On September 27, 2022, Glass Protocol closed a $5 million seed round led by TCG Crypto and 1kx. On September 9, 2023, Glass announced the termination of development activities, and the founders believed that the market demand for video NFTs was unsustainable and could not continue development.

RECUR

RECUR builds end-to-end custom experiences for the world's largest brands and IPs for fans to buy, collect, and resell NFTs.

On March 25, 2021, RECUR closed a $5 million seed round led by Alliance DAO. ON SEPTEMBER 13 OF THE SAME YEAR, RECUR CLOSED A $50 MILLION SERIES A FUNDING ROUND AT A VALUATION OF $333 MILLION. ON AUGUST 19, 2023, RECUR ANNOUNCED THAT IT WOULD CEASE OPERATIONS.

GEN. ART

GEN. ART is an on-chain generative art platform dedicated to enabling artists to publish their artwork to members on the blockchain. On August 12, 2023, GEN.ART announced that it would shut down its operations and distribute the remaining funds in the project's treasury to the holders of DAO tokens.

Swap.net

Swap.net is an NFT marketplace for professional traders and offers airdrops for NFT traders.

On April 21, 2022, Swap.net completed 1.75 million million yuan angel 轮融资,FBG Capital, Big Brain Holdings, etc.

Formfunction

Formfunction is Solana's digital art marketplace that went live on its mainnet in January 2022.

On March 17, 2022, Formfunction closed a $4.7 million seed round led by Variant Fund with participation from Solana Ventures, OpenSea Ventures, and others. On March 15, 2023, Formfunction announced that it would cease operations.

Games & Metaverse

MetaPoint

MetaPoint is an online virtual world built based on blockchain technology, where players can participate in virtual reality activities such as planting, management, construction, finance, games, entertainment, etc., so as to obtain a pleasant experience and certain economic feedback.

Pax.world

Pax.world is an open metaverse platform that offers advanced audio, video, and chat features as well as avatars with advanced technical specifications.

On February 14, 2022, Pax.world closed a $5.8 million seed round with participation from Shima Capital, DFG, AU21 Capital, Jump Trading, and others.

The Parallel

The Parallel is a decentralized virtual world game similar to The Sandbox where players can play, create, collect, trade, and earn PRL, the platform's native token, as well as NFTs.

On December 15, 2021, The Parallel closed a $4.3 million funding round with participation from Kyber Ventures, Signum Capital, OKX Ventures, and others.

AQUA

AQUA is a Web3 gaming marketplace that provides players with the content and tools they need to buy, sell, and trade gaming NFTs.

ON SEPTEMBER 28, 2022, AQUA RECEIVED A $10 MILLION INVESTMENT FROM INVESTMENT FIRM DIGITAL. On November 17, 2023, AQUA announced that it would cease operations.

Ascends

Combining a story-driven open world with an action-packed RPG, Ascenders allows players to choose between exploring, fighting, and building through its game modes.

On March 8, 2022, Ascenders closed a $6.4 million private round led by Three Arrows Capital, Ryze Labs, and Merit Circle, with participation from DeFiance Capital, GuildFi, Momentum 6, Zee Prime Capital, and others. On October 6, 2023, Ascenders announced that it would cease operations.

DeHorizon

DeHorizon is a metaverse gaming ecosystem that enables players to create, socialize, and enjoy blockchain-based games with friends.

2021 年 10 月 11 日，DeHorizon 完成 850 万美元 Pre-A 轮融资，Sfermion、Dragonfly、EVG 领投、Animoca Brands、YGG、Mechanism Capital、LD Capital、The LAO、Momentum 6 等参投。

Starbots

Starbots is a bot-versus-NFT game where players can create fantasy bots to fight against other competitors and then collect NFT items and tokens.

On January 5, 2022, Starbots closed a $2.4 million private round of financing, with participation from Impossible Finance, Solar Eco Fund, and others.

Nifty's

Nifty's is an NFT-focused social media platform that brings together quality publishers, brands, and creators with a community of collectors, curators, and fans.

On July 12, 2021, Nifty's closed a $10 million seed round with participation from Polychain, Draper Dragon, Coinbase Ventures, Dapper Labs, Samsung Next, and others. On August 3, 2023, Nifty's announced that it would phase out operations after failing to secure the funding needed to continue development.

DeHorizon

DeHorizon is a metaverse gaming ecosystem that enables players to create, socialize, and enjoy blockchain-based games with friends.

On October 11, 2021, DeHorizon closed an $8.5 million Pre-A round of funding co-led by Sfermion and Dragonfly, EVG, and with participation from Animoca Brands, YGG, Mechanism Capital, and others.

HashLand

HashLand is a play-to-earn RPG that combines DeFi elements with NFT technology. In November 2021, Waterdrip Capital, Youbi Capital, Foresight Ventures, and others participated.

SolChicks

SolChicks is an NFT fantasy game on Solana where players can use their SolChicks as their characters in a unique gaming metaverse.

On November 1, 2021, SolChicks closed a $20 million funding round with participation from Fundamental Labs, Blocore, GD10 Ventures, KuCoin Labs, Gate Labs, Spartan Group, Shima Capital, and others.

Metroverse

Metroverse is an Ethereum-based land trading NFT strategy game where players can collect, trade, and battle. On February 24, 2023, Metroverse announced the cessation of operations due to the downturn in the NFT gaming market.

EtherOrcs

EtherOrcs is a 100% on-chain gaming and ecosystem. Orcs and their allies carry out raids, pillage, travel, and more. On February 7, 2023, EtherOrcs announced that it would cease operations due to uncertainty in the NFT market.

DAO

Superdao

Superdao is an all-in-one platform for starting, managing, and growing DAOs.

On January 27, 2022, Superdao closed a $10.5 million seed round at a valuation of $160 million, led by SignalFire with participation from Soma Capital, Lemniscap, Alliance DAO, Shima Capital, and others. On October 19, 2023, Superdao decided to return the remaining large amount of funds to investors and gradually cease operations.

Social entertainment

SappChat

SappChat is a decentralized messaging application combined with decentralized banking powered by blockchain and artificial intelligence technology.

AnimalGo

AnimalGo is a reward-based pet community app that allows users to communicate and exchange information with their social networks.

Xeenon

Xeenon is a decentralized video platform that gives creators full control over how their creative work is monetized while connecting directly with their fans. On September 15, 2023, Xeenon said on its social platform that the regulatory environment in the United States made it difficult to innovate, and the team decided to shut down platform operations.

Naetion

Naetion is a Web3 startup building the world's largest on-chain professional network.

PolkaWorld

PolkaWorld is a Polkadot global community that aims to educate people about the Polkadot network and attract blockchain talent. Behind PolkaWorld's shutdown is a battle of funding, governance, and community.

Rally

Rally is a platform that helps creators and their communities build their own independent digital economy.

Rally completed two post-listing funding rounds in 2021, raising a total of $72 million. On January 31, 2023, Rally announced that it would cease operations.

other

Stem

Stelo is a web3 security company with browser extensions and APIs that protect users from signing malicious transactions and signatures.

On February 16, 2023, Stelo closed a $6 million seed round led by a16z Crypto with participation from OpenSea Ventures, First Round Capital, and others. On October 17, 2023, Stelo announced that it would cease operations and summarized three reasons for its failure.

Magneto

Magneto focuses on accurate customer acquisition and marketing services for Web3 project parties, and users can earn rewards by completing tasks.

Return

Return is an innovative climate technology company that provides consumers, businesses, and communities with verifiable and incentivized social climate action.

2022 年 11 月 4 日，Return 完成 250 万美元Pre种子轮融资，Cherry Crypto 领投，Possible Ventures、Slow Ventures、Not Boring Capital 等参投。

Genki

Genki is a web 3.0 community on-ramp platform where projects, channels, users, and validators can establish new connections in a trustless manner. On April 11, 2023, Genki announced that it would cease operations due to fierce competition in the market.