- ZeroLend shuts down citing unsustainable economics, shrinking margins, and rising security risks.
- Parsec closes operations after declining DeFi leverage and falling NFT market activity.
- Multiple crypto firms halted operations following the October crash and prolonged liquidity contraction.
The October 10 market crash has triggered a chain reaction across the crypto industry, forcing platforms to shut down, slash jobs, or seek bankruptcy protection. What started as a steep price correction has now turned into a full-scale restructuring phase.
Bitcoin’s sharp fall from its October peak has shaken investor confidence, drained liquidity, and exposed fragile business models that were already operating on thin margins.
Bitcoin’s Slide Pressures the Entire Market
The downturn began when Bitcoin reversed sharply from its October peak near $126,000. Since then, the asset has struggled to reclaim momentum, hovering below the $70,000 level for weeks.
The broader market followed. Trading volumes thinned. Leverage evaporated. Retail cooled. Even online searches questioning Bitcoin’s survival surged. When the largest cryptocurrency stumbles this hard, smaller platforms rarely escape untouched. ZeroLend and Parsec have announced shutdowns this week.
ZeroLend Shuts Down After Three Years
ZeroLend, a decentralized lending protocol operating across multiple blockchains, confirmed it will wind down operations after three years.
The team cited unsustainable economics, shrinking margins, reduced borrowing demand, and rising security threats.
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Parsec: “The Market Zigged While We Zagged”
Parsec, a crypto analytics and infrastructure platform, also announced it is shutting down.
CEO Will Sheehan acknowledged that the company’s heavy focus on decentralized finance and NFTs no longer aligned with where the market has moved.
He said that DeFi spot lending leverage never truly recovered after earlier industry collapses and that on-chain activity evolved in ways the company did not anticipate. Parsec said it would return remaining funds to investors as it closes.
A Wave of Closures Across the Industry
The shutdowns began soon after the market downturn:
- In October, blockchain firm Kadena halted its business operations.
- In November, decentralized application analytics platform DappRadar decided to wind down.
- In December, crypto exchange Bit.com initiated a three-step shutdown process.
- In January, OKX reduced staff within its institutional division as part of a global restructuring.
The same month, Polygon Labs announced layoffs just days after acquiring crypto payment firm Coinme and wallet infrastructure provider Sequence for $250 million.
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