A downturn in the cryptocurrency market has left 12,100 tokens trapped in ‘zombie trading’ since the start of the year, Bloomberg reports, citing a Nomics study.
The figure is more than double the tally for all previous years combined.
Technically these ‘zombie coins’ remain, but they have had no trading volume for at least a month.
According to Nomics co-founder Nick Gauthier, it is difficult to assess the scale and seriousness of the affected crypto projects. The majority are likely to be meme tokens, short‑term credit assets, or small personal projects launched for fun, he suggested.
Some of them, such as BoomSpace, no longer have a functioning website, though a Twitter account remains, unused for several months.
Regarding the token Elonmoon, allegedly linked to a lunar‑themed blockchain game, CoinMarketCap’s tracker has attached a warning:
“We have received several messages that some holders cannot sell their coins. Please exercise caution and due diligence.”
Even active crypto projects can exhibit low liquidity in token trading, noted Gauthier. Of the 64,400 assets tracked by Nomics, only about 13,800 had a daily trading volume as of late September.
There are many coins that have effectively become ‘zombies’, as their price sits at a few cents, the expert added. One example is Terra Classic, quoted around $0.000338.
Gauthier recalled that many teams kept their own tokens as reserves during last year’s boom. In the current environment startups are likely to take a more cautious approach, leaning on widely traded coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum, or even fiat currencies, he said.
“I think crypto projects should be prepared for downturns just as for upswings,” he emphasised.
Texas-based finance professor John Griffin says market conditions will widen the list of closed projects and ‘zombie tokens’.
Bloomberg Opinion author Aaron Brown noted that this process is less visible in the crypto industry than in traditional sectors.
“There is no storefront to nail shut, no inventory to sell, no staff who could claim unemployment. People simply lose interest in the token and move on to other things,” he said.
As noted, the founder and CEO of Messari, Ryan Selkis, believes that the bear market will benefit the industry.
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