Router Protocol Shuts Down, Burning $303M Worth of Tokens Amid Financial Woes

Router Protocol, a cross-chain interoperability project, announced its shutdown after exhausting all options to stay operational. The decision was made due to low Web3 liquidity, high operational costs, and anemic bridge revenue, which couldn't cover the platform's expenses.

The team had been trying to commercialize the platform, license its technology, and find a buyer for over a year, but none of these efforts yielded a viable path forward. The project will burn 303,333,198 ROUTE tokens from its treasury reserve, which accounts for over 30% of its 1 billion maximum token supply.

As a result of the announcement, ROUTE's price collapsed by approximately 50%, dropping to an all-time low near $0.00004. The shutdown deadline is set for September 30, 2026, giving the project roughly a year to wind down.