An industry-wide reckoning is weeding out unsustainable startups, leaving behind only the protocols with real cash flow and actual users.
- A dot-com style shakeout is purging overcrowded sectors like layer-2 networks and protocol tooling as altcoin prices drop 70% to 90%, draining token-denominated startup treasuries.
- With over $1.1 billion lost to exploits in the first half of 2026 alone and venture capital rescue funds drying up, single hacks are forcing immediate protocol bankruptcies while leaving abandoned, unmaintained "zombie contracts" running on-chain.
- The surviving projects — like Aave, Hyperliquid and Ether.fi — are those that charge actual fees in stablecoins or cash, shifting the market from speculative token distribution to proven business models.
- 1 Payments firm OpenPayd targets year-end Nasdaq listing to fund U.S. expansion and acquisitions 13 hours ago
- 2 Crypto job postings triple to over 1,200 in September, but applications fall 13 hours ago
- 3 Cathie Wood says smart investors need to start watching where AI agents spend money 14 hours ago
- 4 Crypto's Sisyphean struggle 16 hours ago
- 5 BlackRock offers a glimpse of how tokenization may change your investment portfolio 16 hours ago
- 6 Bank group sues U.S. regulator over granting crypto trust charters 1 day ago
- 7 BNY in talks with Kraken parent Payward over infrastructure partnership 1 day ago
- 8 Once a $2 billion Ethereum layer-2, Blast is shutting down after assets plunge 98% 1 day ago
- 9 Trump’s potential AI czar, Jay Clayton, helped pioneer the SEC’s crypto crackdown 1 day ago
- 10 America at a crossroads: Commissioner Peirce’s parting challenge 1 day ago
The Definitive Stablecoin Landscape Series: Asia Pacific
As stablecoins move into regulated finance, APAC is becoming a key proving ground. This report maps the region’s rules, use cases, and RLUSD’s role.
Why it matters :
As stablecoins move into regulated finance, APAC is becoming a key proving ground. This report maps the region’s rules, use cases, and RLUSD’s role.
Payments firm OpenPayd targets year-end Nasdaq listing to fund U.S. expansion and acquisitions
Crypto job postings triple to over 1,200 in September, but applications fall
BlackRock offers a glimpse of how tokenization may change your investment portfolio
Original sourceCoinDesk
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