Zombies Among Us: Deadcoins & How to Spot Them

Deadcoins are cryptocurrencies that have lost all or most of their value, have no active development, or have been abandoned by their creators and community. This can happen for various reasons, like scams, lack of interest, or poor execution of the project. They may keep some price and/or a low trade volume, depending on the coin, but it’s just zombie activity.

We have zombies from past crypto eras lurking on some exchanges and personal wallets: they’re called ‘deadcoins’. Sometimes, you can't tell a "live" coin from a dead one at first glance. If you hit buy or trade, the rotten thing might stay with you forever. Not a pleasant experience.

Deadcoins are cryptocurrencies that have lost all or most of their value, have no active development, or have been abandoned by their creators and community. This can happen for various reasons, like scams, lack of interest, or poor execution of the project. Essentially, they’re digital assets that no longer have a viable future and are considered defunct.

But here’s the catch: they may keep existing in some networks, and could still be available for trading on some DEXes. So, they’re like zombies, running around as they were programmed, but with no one to maintain their codes, make new plans, or even use them. They may keep some price and/or a low trade volume, depending on the coin, but it’s just zombie activity. Once in your portfolio, they’ll likely rot in there forever.

What kills a coin?

According to CoinGecko, over 50% of all cryptocurrencies (at least from the thousands listed in their platform), have died between 2014 and 2024. If you think about it, it was just meant to happen when a lot of people are only copying and pasting the same Bitcoin code with another name.

Cryptocurrencies die for several reasons, and one common cause is the lack of interest or demand. Without enough users or investors, the project can’t sustain itself, leaving it with no real value. Another key reason is poor development; if the team behind the coin doesn’t deliver on their promises or the technology isn’t strong, people lose trust and abandon it.

However, sometimes they’re created with the specific purpose of being deadcoins soon. In scams and frauds, they’re offered just to take money from investors, amid big and fake promises. Once the scammers are paid, they promptly disappear, leaving the coin worthless. On the other hand, in prediction markets like Prophet on Obyte, two or three tokens are created to represent potential results on a bet. Once the results are delivered, one or two of those tokens will become a deadcoin with zero value —but that’s expected from the beginning.

Besides, competition in the crypto world is fierce, and if a coin doesn’t stand out or offer something unique, it can easily get overshadowed by more successful projects ...