More than 100 crypto projects have shut down, filed for bankruptcy, or simply disappeared in 2026. MoonPay president Keith Grossman says that's not a sign the technology is broken — it's a dot-com-style correction. He made the warning on Aug. 10, arguing that the survivors will be the ones that actually build something people need.
The dot-com comparison
Grossman, who joined WIRED in 2002 and took a leadership role during the 2008 financial crisis, has seen multiple cycles. He compared the current shakeout to the dot-com collapse, saying the technology itself isn't failing. Just as the internet didn't fail when the bubble burst, he argued, crypto's underlying infrastructure will survive. The difference is that projects must prove they create something people actually need.
The 2026 casualty list
The numbers are stark. Tally, a governance platform used by more than 500 protocols, closed despite processing over $1 billion in payments. Everclear shut down after reaching $500 million in monthly transaction volume. BitMart and BitMEX began winding down trading operations, with BitMart's BMX token falling more than 60% after the announcement. Movement Labs filed for Chapter 11 on July 23, pushing its MOVE token more than 99% below its previous all-time high. The closures span governance, settlement, and exchange infrastructure — a sign that no corner of the industry is immune.
What separates winners from losers
Grossman described AI as "scalable intelligence" and crypto as "scalable truth," a framework he attributed to John D'Agostino. But he cautioned that putting an asset on a blockchain doesn't automatically create value. The technology has to make something meaningfully better for users. That's the bar, he said, and most projects this year didn't clear it.
The purge isn't over. With more than 100 projects already gone, the question is which of the remaining ones can meet that bar.
