The year 2025 has emerged as a pivotal period of reckoning for the cryptocurrency industry, marked by a significant wave of project failures. Data from RootData reveals a list of projects deemed “dead” in 2025—having ceased operations, declared bankruptcy, or become non-functional. This trend signifies a market-wide shift from a phase driven by speculative narratives and funding illusions to one focused on substantive value and the survival of viable business models. Historical data shows a surge in failures following the 2022-2023 market downturns, with numbers peaking at 250 and 230 projects, respectively. While 2024 saw a moderation to 171 failures, the nature of the 2025 wave is distinct. Current failures are less about external shocks and more about the collapse of core business logic under market pressure, particularly in previously overfunded sectors. The GameFi and NFT sectors were among the hardest hit. Numerous GameFi projects, including COMBO and Nyan Heroes, shut down. The NFT space saw the demise of platforms like Royal and RECUR. Infrastructure projects such as CLV and Vega Protocol also failed due to weak ecosystem traction, while others like the automated market maker Bunni fell victim to critical security breaches. Beyond outright failures, RootData identified hundreds of “zombie projects”—largely inactive ventures from the 2022-2023 cycle. This failure wave stems from a fundamental shift in the industry’s underlying logic. The GameFi sector, for instance, saw its total market value plummet by over 60% in 2025, exposing the fragility of the “play-to-earn” model reliant on unsustainable tokenomics and continuous capital inflow. The NFT market valuation crashed by 72%, with a severe drop in active sellers, highlighting a crisis of utility and a shift in investor preference toward tangible assets. The DeFi sector also contracted, with Total Value Locked (TVL) falling over 20%, hampered by security concerns and dwindling yields. Notably, substantial venture capital backing failed to protect many high-profile projects. Examples include Vega Protocol (over $100M raised), which failed to gain traction against competitors, and NFT platform Royal ($71M raised), which collapsed alongside the broader NFT market downturn. Other well-funded projects in infrastructure and metaverse sectors met similar fates due to ecosystem decay, technological delays, or flawed economic models. The 2025 downturn delivers a clear message: high funding and prestigious backers are no longer sufficient guarantees of survival. The market is undergoing a paradigm shift from speculation-driven growth to value-driven sustainability. Projects lacking genuine user adoption, product-market fit, and sustainable economic models are being systematically cleared out. This painful consolidation, while challenging, is steering the industry toward a more mature phase where long-term viability outweighs narrative hype.