2026 is shaping up to be a brutal year for decentralized finance. At least five major projects have announced closures in recent months, from cross-chain infrastructure to consumer gaming. The latest is Everclear, which will shut down in May after failing to make its solver model profitable despite moving $500 million a month across blockchains.
Everclear's cash runway runs short
Everclear had tried a pivot to a B2B2C model, but the company underestimated how long it would take to onboard partners. The cash runway ran out before those deals could start generating revenue. Now, after settling liabilities, Everclear is exploring a token buyback of between $50,000 and $200,000 — but that's not a sure thing. The company says the buyback depends on whether any funds remain.
ZERO Network's strategic refocus
ZERO Network, a cross-chain bridging protocol, shut down as part of a refocus by its parent company Zerion. Zerion will concentrate on its wallet and API services going forward. Bridging into ZERO has already been disabled, but users can still bridge funds out until July 31, 2026.
Syndicate Labs and Fantasy.top bow out
Syndicate Labs wound down on May 21 after five years in operation. The team pointed to fundamental shifts in the rollup market as the reason. Fantasy.top, a two-year-old project, announced it will close at the end of June.
A wider wave of DeFi closures
These aren't isolated cases. A tweet circulating among the community lists a string of other projects that shut down in the first quarter of 2026 alone: MilkyWay, Nifty Gateway, Polynomial, ZeroLend, and others. The closures span everything from liquid staking to NFT marketplaces and lending protocols. It's a broad consolidation that cuts across infrastructure layers and consumer-facing apps.
For Everclear, the question now is whether the token buyback will actually happen — and how much will be left after creditors are paid. For the rest of DeFi, the message is clear: even projects with solid volume or a loyal user base aren't immune to the market's current realities.
