Kadena Announces Shutdown Amid Tough Market Conditions
Kadena, the blockchain company behind one of crypto’s early proof-of-work projects, announced it will shut down operations. The team cited harsh market conditions as the reason for an immediate wind-down. They said they are “no longer able to continue business operations.”
On X, the Kadena team expressed gratitude to supporters. They also said they “regret that because of market conditions, we are unable to continue to promote and support the adoption of this unique decentralized offering.”
Following the announcement, Kadena’s native token KDA dropped nearly 58% in 24 hours. According to CoinMarketCap, KDA traded at $0.089451 with $111.7 million in daily volume. The wider crypto market remained stable, with a $3.66 trillion capitalization and a slight 0.10% gain.
Network Operations to Continue While Business Closes
Kadena confirmed its proof-of-work blockchain will keep running until miners and maintainers exit the network. However, all business operations and technical support have stopped immediately. The team said about 566 million KDA tokens remain to be distributed as mining rewards through 2139.
Founded in 2020 by former JPMorgan executives Stuart Popejoy and William Martino, Kadena aimed to combine Bitcoin’s security with Ethereum’s speed and flexibility. It branded itself as “the blockchain for business” and claimed to outperform both Bitcoin and Ethereum. In 2022, Kadena launched a $100 million developer grant fund to attract Web3 builders.
From Early Promise to Market Decline
Kadena showed early promise but failed to gain significant traction. Network trading volumes remained low compared to major crypto projects. A major hiring push in 2024 did not reverse this trend. The total value locked on Kadena’s blockchain was around $9 million in early 2022, a small figure compared to larger blockchains.
Earlier this year, CEO Stuart Popejoy promoted the Leap Grant Program, a $50 million ecosystem initiative. However, details on its impact remain unclear. Kadena said it will consult the community on how to handle locked and unmined tokens.
Kadena’s shutdown highlights that strong technology alone cannot guarantee success in crypto. Market pressures and user adoption are critical for survival in this competitive space.
