The blockchain firm behind Kadena announced on Tuesday that it will shut down operations, marking the end of one of crypto’s early proof-of-work projects built for businesses. The team said it is “no longer able to continue business operations” due to harsh market conditions, forcing an immediate wind-down.
“We are tremendously grateful to everybody who has participated in this journey with us,” the team posted on X, adding that they “regret that because of market conditions, we are unable to continue to promote and support the adoption of this unique decentralized offering.”
Traders reacted swiftly to the announcement. According to CoinMarketCap, Kadena’s native token, KDA, plunged nearly 58% within 24 hours, trading at $0.089451 with $111.7 million in daily volume. Meanwhile, the broader crypto market remained stable, with a $3.66 trillion capitalization, reflecting only a slight 0.10% rise.
Kadena confirmed that its proof-of-work blockchain will continue running until miners and maintainers fully exit the network. However, all business operations and technical support have stopped immediately. The team noted that around 566 million KDA remain to be distributed as mining rewards through 2139.
Kadena was started in 2020 by two former JPMorgan executives, Stuart Popejoy and William Martino. Their goal was to build a blockchain that offered Bitcoin’s strong security while matching Ethereum’s speed and flexibility. The company positioned itself as “the blockchain for business” and once claimed it could outperform both Bitcoin and Ethereum. Moreover, the team established a $100 million developer grant fund in 2022 to attract Web3 builders.
Kadena began with a lot of promise but soon lost its pace. Trading on its network stayed much lower than other big crypto projects, and even a big hiring effort in 2024 couldn’t change that. The total value of assets on its blockchain reached around $9 million in early 2022, a small number compared to larger blockchains.
Earlier this year, CEO Stuart Popejoy promoted the Leap Grant Program — a $50 million ecosystem initiative, but its execution remains unclear. The organization said it will consult the community on handling locked and unmined tokens.
Kadena’s downfall shows that great technology alone isn’t enough to survive in crypto. When market pressure builds and users move on, even promising projects can crumble. It’s a reminder that success in this space depends as much on real-world traction as on innovation.
