Kadena Shuts Down – How a 77% Crash and Cash Burn Ended One of Crypto’s Most Ambitious Projects
Kadena, as soon as hailed as one of probably the most promising blockchain ventures, has introduced that it’s shutting down operations after operating out of funds.
While the blockchain community will stay on-line as a result of its decentralized nature, the group behind it said it will stop all enterprise exercise and lively upkeep.
Kaneda’s announcement added that the choice got here after market situations made it unimaginable to maintain operations or promote the mission’s adoption, as its native token dropped 77% over a month’s timeline.
The group mentioned it will retain a small group of staff to supervise the transition course of and help with winding down operations.
The announcement rapidly rippled via the market, and the impression was quick.
Kadena Crashes 99% as Project Shuts Down, Exchanges Begin Delisting KDA
The announcement despatched the Kadena token (KDA) into a steep decline. As of Tuesday, KDA was buying and selling round $0.12, down greater than 47% up to now 24 hours, 77% in a month, and greater than 99% from its all-time high of $27.64 set in 2021, according to CoinGecko data.
Kadena’s mainnet went stay in January 2020, promising to mix Bitcoin-style safety with high throughput via an structure often known as “braided chains.”
At its peak in 2021, Kadena’s token reached a market capitalization of almost $4 billion, supported by a rising group and a $100 million grant program for Web3 builders. But the community struggled to draw sustained adoption.
According to data from DeFiLlama, Kadena’s complete worth locked in DeFi has plunged to simply $128,000, down 71% in 24 hours and a far cry from its all-time high of $11 million in August 2022.
Most of its DeFi protocols have suffered sharp declines in liquidity. Kadena Cabinet, a governance platform, dropped over 70% in TVL within the final day, whereas decentralized exchanges like KDSwap and Mercatus fell by 83% and 64%, respectively.
In the aftermath, exchanges have began delisting the token. OKX announced plans to delist KDA buying and selling pairs (KDA/USDT and KDA/USD) by October 29, citing failure to fulfill itemizing necessities.
Deposits have already been suspended as of October 22, with withdrawals set to shut on January 22, 2026. Additionally, Bybit introduced the tip of perpetual contracts on KDA, efficient October 2nd, and has ceased all lending and borrowing providers associated to KDA on the time.
Despite Company Closure, Kadena Blockchain to Operate Uninterrupted
Kaneda mentioned that whereas it’s stepping away, the blockchain will proceed to operate independently as a proof-of-work community maintained by miners and ruled by on-chain sensible contract builders.
The firm mentioned it will quickly launch a new binary to make sure uninterrupted operation and inspired all node operators to improve.
The mission’s token and protocol may even proceed to operate, as 566 million KDA stay to be distributed as mining rewards via 2139.
Also, round 83.7 million KDA are nonetheless set to come back out of lockup by November 2029. The group mentioned it can have interaction with the group on transitioning to full group governance and upkeep.
Investors Reeling After Shutdown; Cardano’s Hoskinson Extends a Hand
The shutdown marks the tip of a mission that started with high expectations. Founded by former JPMorgan engineers Stuart Popejoy and William Martino, Kadena got down to construct a scalable, proof-of-work blockchain designed for enterprise use.
The founders had beforehand helped the financial institution discover blockchain initiatives earlier than leaving to launch their very own community.
Kadena’s fall has left traders reeling. On X, one longtime holder, Le Phu, wrote that he had misplaced greater than 90% of his funding and accused the mission of being a “rip-off,” noting that the group had continued making corrections and updates shortly earlier than asserting the shutdown.
“My journey with KDA additionally ends right here,” he mentioned. “All my investments have misplaced worth, and so has my religion in crypto.”
Some business figures have responded with sympathy and doable curiosity. Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson publicly offered to attach with the Kadena group following the announcement, hinting at potential collaboration or assist.
The shutdown has additionally reignited debate concerning the long-term sustainability of Layer-1 blockchains.
Kadena’s Shutdown Becomes a Cautionary Tale in Overcrowded Layer-1 Market
Analysts identified that regardless of Kadena’s technical improvements, the mission struggled to draw customers in a crowded market dominated by Ethereum, Solana, and their rising ecosystem of rollups and Layer-2 networks.
My first ever blockchain interplay was on Kadena in the course of the NFT increase, and I simply ended up there as a result of that is the place I discovered the chance as I used to be beginning my profession.
I comply with a lot of Kadena group members, and truthfully, the concept behind the chain was intriguing at… https://t.co/9gk2nMxMQw
— Noveleader
(@0xnoveleader) October 22, 2025
Crypto researcher Noveleader noted that Kadena “at all times struggled with the value motion of their token and the ecosystem tasks,” saying the group had been attempting to interact with the group for years as momentum light.
Data from DeFiLlama shows that over 100 rollups and greater than 200 unbiased blockchains are at the moment lively, but most have fewer than 2,000 each day customers.
Kadena’s collapse has change into a cautionary instance of what number of tasks constructed on technological ambition fail to safe significant adoption.
Founded on the promise of scalable proof-of-work innovation, Kadena was as soon as positioned as “the blockchain for enterprise.”
Yet, as consumer exercise and liquidity shifted towards ecosystems with deeper community results, Kadena’s imaginative and prescient faltered.
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