According to new data from CryptoRank, nearly 93% of crypto tokens launched since 2024 are now trading below their token generation event (TGE) price, highlighting significant challenges facing new token launches. The analysis examined tokens launched between 2024 and 2026 with market capitalizations exceeding $100 million, revealing that only 8 of 113 crypto projects remain above their TGE price, while 105 projects have fallen into negative territory. The market has not improved since December, when research firm Memento Research found 84.7% of 2025 launches below their listing price, with median project valuations collapsed 71% from launch. CryptoRank's second-quarter recap shows 82.1% of the top 100 assets fell in June, with every major token category posting median losses. Recent market data from AMBCrypto indicates that public equities now dominate the RWA perpetuals market, taking 46% of the market share as traders increasingly avoid newer tokens, reflecting the broader shift toward established assets.
The research found that only 7.1% of projects continue to trade above their launch price, while 92.9% have declined below it. The median return across the dataset stood at -95.7%, highlighting the extent of drawdowns experienced by many recent token launches. Among the strongest performers, Hyperliquid [HYPE] led with a gain of 1,519% from its TGE price, followed by Ondo Finance [ONDO] at 101.4%, EverValue Coin [EVA] at 20.32%, and Midnight Network [NIGHT] at 16.50%. However, even the winners face challenges - HYPE sits about 20% below its June record of $76.70, while ONDO remains 81% below its December 2024 peak of $2.14. The numbers hide an even darker picture, as the list counts only tokens still worth over $100 million, while thousands of smaller launches failed and never made the cut.
According to RootData analysis, crypto venture capital funding reached $13.3 billion in H1 2026, already comparable to the $13.2 billion recorded for all of 2024, even as the number of funding rounds fell to just 435, a 78% decline from the 2022 peak of 1,978. The market has shifted from a fragmented landscape of small, diversified bets to concentrated investments in mature projects with auditable revenue structures and regulatory licenses. Traditional financial institutions now participate in 54.5% of all investment deals, up from 29.2% in 2018, while seed-stage deals have plummeted 88% from 694 in 2022 to just 81 in H1 2026.
The gaming sector experienced the steepest decline, with capital falling from $758.6 million to $44.8 million, while the NFT sector dropped from $114.9 million to $14.7 million. In contrast, the custody sector grew fifteenfold from $20.4 million in 2024 to $317.1 million in H1 2026, with Anchorage alone raising $100 million in strategic investment. The payments and stablecoin sector saw total investment jump from $143.9 million to $2.85 billion, driven primarily by large M&A transactions including Mastercard's $1.8 billion acquisition of BVNK and Payward's $600 million acquisition of Reap. The sector-specific data underscores how capital increasingly concentrates around projects that have demonstrated real-world utility and regulatory compliance.
The figures may influence how future crypto projects approach token launches, as projects increasingly face scrutiny over high fully diluted valuations, limited circulating supply at launch, and large future token unlocks. The data shows that Hyperliquid's success stems from its perpetuals exchange earning real fees that fund token buybacks, while Ondo's strength comes from demand for tokenized US Treasuries. The lesson is clear - hype fades, but unlock schedules do not. The few survivors earn fees, solve real problems, or hold hard assets. The recent shift toward established assets in the RWA perpetuals market, with public equities taking 46% of market share, reflects this broader trend of risk-averse capital allocation, suggesting that future crypto launches may need to demonstrate stronger fundamentals and utility to attract investor interest.
