Nearly one in four crypto tokens launched since 2020 have failed in the first quarter of 2025 alone

Nearly one in four crypto tokens launched since 2021 have failed in the first quarter of 2025 alone, as a market downturn and easier token creation fuel the surge in collapses, data from CoinGecko shows.

The analysis by the cryptocurrency market tracker reveals that more than 50% of all cryptocurrencies have failed.

Out of nearly 7 million tokens listed on its GeckoTerminal since 2021, 3.7 million are no longer trading and are deemed failures, the data shows.

Most of the 52.7% of failed crypto tokens on GeckoTerminal took place in 2024 and early 2025. In the first quarter of 2025 alone, 1.8 million tokens collapsed, accounting for nearly 50% of all recorded project failures.

CoinGecko suggested that the sharp drop in token survivability may be linked to broader market instability. This decline coincided with the inauguration of U.S. President Donald Trump in January, which marked a downturn in the crypto market.

The number of crypto projects listed on GeckoTerminal surged dramatically over the past few years. From just 428,383 listings in 2021, the total has swelled to nearly 7 million by 2025.

CoinGecko pointed to the launch of pump.fun as a key driver behind the surge in token creation, noting that the platform made it significantly easier to mint new coins—many of which were meme-based or lacked substantial development.

Pump.fun is a Solana-based platform that allows anyone to quickly create and launch meme coins with minimal effort. While it’s credited with driving massive token creation, it’s also sparked criticism for encouraging low-quality, speculative projects and saturating the market with short-lived coins.

Image Credit: CoinGecko

In 2024, a record-breaking 3 billion new crypto projects were launched, making it the busiest year for token creation. Despite the surge, nearly 1.4 billion of those projects failed—making up 37.7% of all crypto collapses recorded since 2021.

Additionally, CoinGecko noted that prior to the debut of pump.fun in 2024, crypto project failures remained in the low six-figure range. From 2021 to 2023, these early failures accounted for only 12.6% of all recorded collapses in the last five years.

The sharp rise and fall of crypto tokens in recent years reflects the volatile nature of the space—and the growing need for smarter participation. As the landscape continues to evolve, investors and developers alike are being pushed to rethink what sustainability means in a world where anyone can launch a token, but not every project can stand the test of time.