More than half of cryptocurrencies issued in 10 years have been identified as fraudulent or unclaimed

More than half of the cryptocurrencies registered on the CoinGecko aggregator since 2014 have been classified as "dead," according to the platform's administration. Out of over 24,000 assets, 14,039 have been designated as "dead," Coingecko.com reports: 

Projects were included in this category if there was no trading activity recorded for 30 days or if they were recognized as fraudulent startups. The list also encompasses cryptocurrencies that have been deactivated, including closed projects or networks that ceased to operate after updates.

Among all the "dead" cryptocurrencies, 53.6% entered the market during the peak demand period in 2020–2021. During the same time frame, 7530 assets ceased to exist.

CoinGecko attributes such high figures to the relatively straightforward mechanism of launching cryptocurrencies on its platform and the popularity of meme-related tokens, many of which lack substantial backing. According to the statistics, 2021 was the least successful year, with 70% of projects launched during that year closed down (5724 cryptocurrencies).

Of all cryptocurrencies introduced in 2022, 60% (3520 cryptocurrencies) were shut down. In 2023, over 4,000 coins were introduced, but 289 of them have already been recognized as closed, accounting for less than 10%.