From the brightest to the marginalized: A look at 8 "dead" projects backed by star VCs

This article examines eight cryptocurrency projects that were once highly anticipated and backed by star venture capital firms during the bull market but have since experienced significant declines or failure.

Internet Computer (ICP): Positioned as a decentralized internet computer, it raised $187M from top VCs like a16z. Its price fell over 99% from its peak due to valuation bubbles, hasty launch, and slow ecosystem development.
Fuel Network (FUEL): An Ethereum Layer 2 solution backed by Blockchain Capital. Its token dropped over 94%, struggling amid intense competition in the scaling solutions space.
Dymension (DYM): A modular blockchain project allowing RollApps deployment. Despite investor backing, its price fell over 97% due to slow ecosystem growth and low user engagement.
Flow (FLOW): A blockchain for NFTs and games from Dapper Labs, backed by a16z and others. Its value dropped over 96% as the NFT market cooled, revealing a reliance on a single application.
Yield Protocol: A fixed-rate lending protocol backed by Paradigm. It shut down in 2023 due to insufficient market demand for fixed-rate products and an unsustainable model.
Notional Finance (NOTE): Another fixed-rate lending protocol with backing from Coinbase Ventures. Its token value fell over 99%, marginalized by limited user adoption and liquidity.
DerivaDAO (DDX): A decentralized derivatives exchange with investment from Polychain and Coinbase Ventures. Its price dropped over 99% due to product delays, strong competition, and poor tokenomics.
Eclipse (ES): A Layer 2 solution combining Ethereum security with Solana performance. Its token fell approximately 64% from its peak, facing fierce competition in the crowded L2 market.

The analysis highlights that despite strong VC backing and initial hype, these projects failed due to unsustainable models, slow development, insufficient market demand, or intense competition. The core lesson is that long-term viability depends on a solid business model, user retention, and continuous product advancement, not just financial backing.

Author: Biteye core contributor Viee

Editor: Biteye core contributor Denise

*The full text is approximately 3,300 words and is expected to take 9 minutes to read.

In the crypto industry, every bull market produces countless "high-profile projects": enthusiastically pursued by leading VCs, listed on major exchanges, and attracting countless retail investors. However, time is the sharpest touchstone. Since their peak, the prices of some projects have fallen by 90% or even 99% or more, and discussion of these projects has steadily declined.

This article reviews eight projects funded by star VCs and once held high hopes during the bull market. From ICP to DYM, we'll analyze their financing backgrounds, market capitalization trends, and the underlying reasons for their declines—was it an unsustainable model? A delayed ecosystem launch? Or perhaps too many competitors or insufficient market demand?

01. Internet Computer ($ICP), once among the top five, now down 99.5%

Internet Computer (ICP), launched by the Dfinity Foundation, is positioned as a decentralized "Internet Computer," aiming to enable smart contracts to natively run various internet services. Development of the project began in 2018, and it launched in May 2021 at the height of the bull market. It entered the top five cryptocurrencies by market capitalization on its first day, attracting significant market attention.

ICP is backed by top Silicon Valley venture capital firms, including a16z, Polychain Capital, Multicoin, and CoinFund, raising a total of $187 million. ICP's initial price reached several hundred dollars, peaking at nearly $700. However, it quickly fell after its launch, falling below $20 within two months. By 2025, ICP had been hovering around $3, a drop of over 99% from its peak.

The main reasons for project failure include valuation bubbles, hasty launches, insufficient initial liquidity, and external doubts about project governance and centralization. Furthermore, the ecosystem has been slow to develop and has failed to deliver on its early promise of "reshaping the internet."

02. Fuel Network ($FUEL): The ambition of a modular execution layer, but the reality has yet to be fulfilled

Fuel Network is a second-layer solution for Ethereum expansion. Its core goal is to separate the execution layer from consensus and data availability, thereby increasing throughput and reducing costs.

The project is backed by institutions including Blockchain Capital, The Spartan Group, and CoinFund, and is said to have received at least $80 million in strategic financing.

However, the Fuel Network has failed to meet expectations in terms of token performance and ecosystem adoption. FUEL currently trades at approximately $0.003, with a market capitalization of only tens of millions of dollars, a decline of over 94% from its peak. With the continuous emergence of Ethereum scaling, various Layer 2 (L2) and modular chain solutions, it remains questionable whether Fuel's differentiated advantages can be maintained in the long term.

03. Dymension ($DYM), a new attempt at the RollApps architecture, saw its price drop by over 97%.

Dymension is a project focused on "modular blockchain" infrastructure, featuring an L1 network that allows developers to quickly deploy application-specific blockchains ("RollApps"). Its design decouples the consensus and settlement layers and optimizes scalability and customization by building RollApps within the ecosystem.

The project launched in 2022 and launched its DYM token in early 2024. Despite its clear technical positioning and backing from multiple investors, including Big Brain Holdings, Stratos, and Cogitent Ventures, DYM's current price has plummeted by over 97% from its peak. Data shows that its historical high was near $8.50, and its current price is around $0.10. While the project is still operational, its ecosystem development is slow, and community and user engagement has fallen short of expectations.

04. Flow ($FLOW), once a star NFT chain, has now lost attention

Flow is a high-performance public blockchain launched by Dapper Labs, focusing on NFT and gaming applications. In October 2020, the FLOW token was launched on CoinList. Riding on the NFT craze of 2021, the ecosystem flourished.

Dapper Labs has a strong backing. Between 2018 and 2021, it received multiple rounds of investment from institutions such as a16z, DCG, and Coatue, totaling over $18.5 million. The price of FLOW reached an all-time high of approximately $42 in April 2021, then continued to decline as the market retreated. By 2025, the price had fallen to $0.28, a drop of over 96% from its peak, and its market capitalization had shrunk significantly.

Flow's decline is closely related to the cooling of the NFT market. The ecosystem relies on a single hit app, lacking sustained growth momentum and, in the long term, lacking user retention and real demand support.

05. Yield Protocol, a fixed-rate protocol backed by Paradigm, closed in 2023

Yield Protocol is an Ethereum-based lending protocol that focuses on fixed-term, fixed-rate lending, utilizing the issuance of fyTokens to implement bonded lending products. Launched in 2019, the project was once considered one of the pioneers in the DeFi fixed-income space.

In June 2021, Yield completed a US$10 million Series A financing round led by Paradigm, with participation from well-known institutions such as Framework Ventures and CMS Holdings.

However, in October 2023, Yield Protocol officially announced the closure of the protocol, and the official website was immediately taken offline.

The core reason for the project's failure was insufficient demand for fixed-rate lending, making it difficult to maintain an efficient market. Furthermore, amidst the overall downturn in the DeFi market and increasing regulatory pressure, Yield was unable to develop a sustainable product model and ultimately chose to voluntarily cease operations, becoming one of the few star VC-backed projects to officially close in recent years.

06. Notional Finance ($NOTE), a fixed-rate lending protocol, is gradually becoming marginalized

Notional Finance is a fixed-rate lending protocol deployed on Ethereum that supports users to borrow USDC, DAI, ETH, WBTC and other assets for a fixed period, attempting to fill the gap in "stable income" products in the DeFi market.

In May 2021, Notional completed its Series A financing round led by Coinbase Ventures. Investors also included first-tier institutions such as Polychain Capital and Pantera Capital, with total financing exceeding US$11 million.

As of 2025, the market value of NOTE tokens was only about 1.66 million US dollars, down more than 99% from its peak, with daily trading volume less than 1,000 yuan, and low community activity and protocol update frequency.

Notional faced similar core challenges to Yield Protocol: fixed-rate products faced limited user acceptance in the DeFi market and lacked sufficient liquidity. Furthermore, its design differed significantly from mainstream lending protocols, leading to a low user willingness to migrate and ultimately marginalization.

07. DerivaDAO ($DDX), from a star derivative DEX to a marginal liquidation

DerivaDAO is a decentralized perpetual contract exchange project, first proposed in 2020. It is positioned as a derivatives platform that combines the operational experience of a CEX with the security of a DEX. The project emphasizes community governance and seeks to replace centralized operations with a DAO.

In July 2020, DerivaDAO secured investments from leading VCs including Polychain, Coinbase Ventures, and Dragonfly, raising a total of $2.7 million. While relatively small, its roster was considered stellar. After its 2021 launch, the price of DDX reached approximately $15, but quickly declined. By 2025, DDX had been hovering between $0.01 and $0.04, a drop of over 99% from its peak, bringing the project's market capitalization to near zero.

Due to the delayed product launch and lack of competitive features, coupled with the aggressive mining incentive mechanism in the early stages, which led to the rapid release of tokens without actual trading demand, DerivaDAO also faced strong competitors such as DYDX, making it difficult for the platform to break through.

08. Eclipse ($ES), a new generation of L2 infrastructure testing, has a drawdown of over 64%.

Eclipse is a Layer 2 solution that combines the security of Ethereum with the high performance of Solana. The project aims to launch its mainnet in 2024 and its ES token in July 2025.

The project has received investment from well-known venture capital firms including Placeholder, Hack VC, and Polychain Capital, with a financing scale of approximately US$65 million.

However, judging by market performance, the ES token's valuation has already experienced a significant pullback. According to Coingecko data, while ES is still trading, it has plummeted approximately 64% from its peak. The Eclipse ecosystem is still in its early stages, with fierce competition for roll-up or modular chain solutions. With multiple projects vying for a spot in the L2 market, the path to market success for these projects remains unclear.

09. Conclusion

This article is not intended to criticize or create emotions, but to calmly review the "plunge samples" in the previous round of boom before the next cycle arrives.

They once boasted the most dazzling capital, narratives, and communities—yet still couldn't escape decoupling, collapse, stalling, and marginalization. In a market where finance and technology are highly intertwined, relying solely on financing, token prices, and buzz isn't enough. Is the business model viable? Can users be retained? Can the product continue to advance? These are the core variables that truly determine a project's fate.

These stories also remind us not to just look at venture capital platforms and short-term surges, but also to learn to identify whether the long-term structure is valid.

When the tide recedes, what remains is the real value.