Cryptocurrency

Timeline: The Future of Money

Published

8 years ago

August 5, 2015

Jeff Desjardins

For a larger version of this infographic, click here.

Timeline: The Future of Money

For a larger version of this infographic, click here.

Predicting the future isn’t easy. For example, in 1977 it was predicted by Ken Olsen, a well-known tech entrepreneur at the time, that “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.”

It was not only an inaccurate prediction, but decades later the exact opposite has happened. Billions of computers now fit in our homes and our pockets. Even refrigerators, thermostats, and alarm clocks are armed with computers that connect to us as the Internet of Things grows exponentially.

As a result, we should take any forward-looking guesses with an open mind and a light heart.

In this visualization, Envisioning.io looks at the historical relationship between currencies and technology. The graphic also looks forward to the future of trade, where new applications of technology may change and expand the ways our financial system works.

Importantly, the visualization also makes the distinction between the different types of networks that encompass currency and trade. Centralized networks are where nodes connect through dense centres that support the connected few, such as governments and banks. Decentralized networks are where nodes connect in clusters under no centralized authority. These networks favour the selective individual and give rise to things such as stock markets. Lastly, there is the distinction of distributed networks, where network nodes connect independently. This is what has enabled bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, where the whole of the network is reinforced and supported.

There are several topics covered here that we have looked at in the past in much more depth. Most recently, we showed the opportunity in mobile and electronic payments, the evolution of US currency, and also how cryptocurrencies could disrupt the financial system. We’ve also covered precious metals in depth with our gold and silver series.

Original graphic by: Envisioning

Related Topics:tech cryptocurrency mobile payments future of money networks currency

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Cryptocurrency

Charting the Number of Failed Crypto Coins, by Year (2013-2022)

We visualize over 2,000 crypto failures by year of death, and year of project origin. See how and why crypto projects die in these charts.

Creator Program

Published

5 months ago

May 9, 2023

Aran Ali

The Number of Failed Crypto Coins, by Year (2013-2022)

Ever since the first major crypto boom in 2011, tens of thousands of cryptocurrency coins have been released to market.

And while some cryptocurrencies performed well, others have ceased to trade or have ended up as failed or abandoned projects.

These graphics from CoinKickoff break down the number of failed crypto coins by the year they died, and the year they started. The data covers a decade of coin busts from 2013 through 2022.

Methodology

What is the marker of a “dead” crypto coin?

This analysis reviewed data from failed crypto coins listed on Coinopsy and cross-referenced against CoinMarketCap to verify previous market activity. The reason for each coin death was also tabulated, including:

Failed Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs)
Abandonment with less than $1,000 in trade volume over a three-month period
Scams or coins that were meant as a joke

Dead Crypto Coins from 2013 to 2022

While many familiar crypto coins—Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Ethereum—are still on the market today, there were at least 2,383 crypto coins that bit the dust between 2013 and 2022.

Here’s a breakdown of how many crypto coins died each year by reason:

Dead Coins by Year	Abandoned / No Volume	Scams / Other Issues	ICO Failed / Short-Lived	Joke / No purpose
2013	9	0	0	0
2014	277	20	5	2
2015	223	27	1	2
2016	152	22	4	5
2017	169	71	46	6
2018	390	237	112	12
2019	203	73	51	2
2020	77	19	9	0
2021	34	36	2	2
2022	50	23	8	2
Total	1,584	528	238	33

Abandoned coins with flatlining trading volume accounted for 1,584 or 66.5% of analyzed crypto failures over the last decade. Comparatively, 22% ended up being scam coins, and 10% failed to launch after an ICO.

As for individual years, 2018 saw the largest total of annual casualties in the crypto market, with 751 dead crypto coins. More than half of them were abandoned by investors, but 237 coins were revealed as scams or embroiled in other controversies, such as BitConnect which turned out to be a Ponzi scheme.

Why was 2018 such a big year for crypto failures?

This is largely because the year prior saw Bitcoin prices climb above $1,000 for the first time with an eventual peak near $19,000. As a result, speculation ran hot, new crypto issuances boomed, and many investors and firms got bullish on the market for the first time.

How Many Newly Launched Coins Died?

Of the hundreds of coins that launched in 2017, more than half were considered defunct by the end of 2022.

proportion of launched crypto coins each year that have died

Indeed, a lot of earlier-launched coins have since died. The majority of coins launched between 2013 and 2017 have already become “dead coins” by the end of 2022.

Coin Start Year	Dead Coins by 2022
2013	66.67%
2014	76.54%
2015	68.42%
2016	60.87%
2017	57.14%
2018	27.62%
2019	4.74%
2020	1.03%
2021	0.59%
2022	0.06%

Part of this is because the cryptocurrency field itself was still being figured out. Many coins were launched in a time of experimentation and innovation, but also of volatility and uncertainty.

However, the trend began to shift in 2018. Only 27.62% of coins launched in that year have bit the dust so far, and the failure rates in 2019 and 2020 fell further to only 4.74% and 1.03% of launched coins, respectively.

This suggests that the crypto industry has become more mature and stable, with newer projects establishing themselves more securely and investors becoming wiser to potential scams.

How will this trend evolve into 2023 and beyond?