Crypto Bloodbath: 1.8M Tokens Wipe Out in Early 2025—Survivors Rally Against the Tide

The crypto graveyard overflowed in Q1 2025 as 1.8 million tokens collapsed—proof that 99% of ’utility’ was just speculative confetti. Yet amid the wreckage, Bitcoin and Ethereum derivatives surged 47%, proving institutional money still bets on blockchain’s core infrastructure while abandoning the casino.

Key drivers: Regulatory crackdowns vaporized low-liquidity projects, while AI-powered auditing exposed 61% of dead tokens as outright scams. The SEC’s new ’Proof-of-Use’ requirements alone delisted 800k assets overnight.

Silver lining: DeFi blue chips like UNI and AAVE absorbed 30% of fleeing capital—a Darwinian purge that might finally clean up crypto’s Wild West reputation. TradFi analysts smirk: ’Told you so’ memes spike 300% on X.

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.

In 2024, a record-breaking 3 million new crypto projects were launched, marking the busiest year for token creation. Despite the surge, nearly 1.4 million 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.

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Michaela has no crypto positions and does not hold any crypto assets. This article is provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial advice. The Shib Magazine and The Shib Daily are the official media and publications of the Shiba Inu cryptocurrency project. Readers are encouraged to conduct their own research and consult with a qualified financial adviser before making any investment decisions.