Crypto Consolidation Hits Industry Hard as Over 100 Projects Shut Down

The crypto industry has experienced a significant decline in the first seven months of 2026, with over 100 projects either shutting down or filing for bankruptcy.

A report from CoinDesk cites numbers from RootData, showing that four major companies announced closures or filings within a week last month: BitMEX, BitMart, Movement Labs, and Storj Labs. This trend affects all parts of the industry, including exchanges, wallets, NFT markets, and layer-1 blockchains.

Ethereum's layer-2 ecosystem has been shrinking after a surge three years ago, when new technological advances made it easier for companies to start their own chains. However, this also led to an overabundance of general-purpose layer-2s, which industry leaders now consider unnecessary.

Marek Olszewski, co-founder of the Celo layer-2, believes that consolidation is happening across all of crypto right now, not just layer two. 'Consolidation is happening across all of crypto right now, not just layer two, from DeFi protocols to DEXs and infrastructure providers. It's a sign that the industry is maturing.' Olszewski said.