Number of Dead Cryptocurrencies Jump by 300% in 2022

The cryptocurrency market is worth close to a trillion dollars, despite the fact that cryptocurrencies are still a relatively unregulated asset class. Given the sector’s volatility, their valuations are highly unpredictable.

Approximately 22,070 digital currencies are tracked by CoinMarketCap as of the 19th of December, 2022. This figure rises every day. There were 16,372 crypto currencies at the beginning of the year, a 35% growth as the year nears its end. 

In Q1 2022, there were 9,929 cryptocurrencies listed on the market, up 250% from the end of 2019 (2,817). By November 2022, however, the number had dropped back down to 9,310.

According to the report, there were 1,719 uncirculated coins as of the publication date. This type of currency has been called “zombie coins” or “dead coins”. The website 99bitcoins.com maintains a list of defunct coins. 

At the time of publication, it was estimated that there were a total of 1,719 worthless coins in circulation. A coin might become “dead” for many reasons, including stalled development, no users or traders, or if revealed as a scam. 

Some of these ventures rose quickly to prominence before failing. Aside from 2021, an average of about 900 crypto currencies were listed as dead from 2018 to 2022. The ‘meme-coin season’ certainly caused an enormous number of worthless coins and tokens in 2022.

Bitcoin’s Situation Remain Uncertain

As 2022 ends, the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin may benefit from a number of factors, such as rising inflation rates around the world and the inflow of billions of dollars in new investments from institutional investors. 

Bitcoin trades near $17,000 and has a $322 billion market cap. However, similar success does not apply to all cryptocurrencies. In 2019, LongHash, a Blockchain research platform, investigated the alleged dead crypto coins and Scam Projects. The study concluded that the primary cause of their decline was the departure of investors.