Kadena Shuts Down After Nine Years, Token Crashes 60%

22 October 2025 - 13:08 CEST

Kadena, the proof-of-work blockchain founded by former JPMorgan and SEC executives Stuart Popejoy and Will Martino, has announced it will cease all business operations immediately, citing prolonged market pressures.  

A controlled exit 

The company confirmed the decision in an official post on X late on 21 Oct, saying all staff had been notified and a small team would remain to oversee the wind-down. Kadena said it will release new binaries to ensure network continuity without its involvement, noting the blockchain will continue to operate independently through miners and node operators. 

“We regret that because of market conditions we are unable to continue to promote and support the adoption of this unique decentralized offering,” the statement said. 

Token collapse and market reaction 

The announcement triggered a sharp sell-off in Kadena’s native token KDA, which plunged more than 60% to around $0.09, extending its losses to over 99% from its Nov 2021 peak of $28.25. Trading volume surged more than 1,200% to nearly $99mn as investors rushed to exit positions or speculate on the fallout. 

Initial fears of a hacked post were dismissed after Kadena verified the announcement’s authenticity on Discord. The statement drew more than 3mn views within hours. 

Network continuity 

Kadena said its protocol and mining rewards of more than 566mn KDA distributed through 2039 will remain active, with another 83.7mn KDA unlocking by Nov 2029. The team said it will engage with the community on transitioning to community-led governance and maintenance. 

End of a chapter 

Launched in 2016, Kadena pioneered a scalable proof-of-work architecture using its chainweb protocol and once positioned itself as an enterprise-grade rival to Ethereum. Its total value locked (TVL) fell from $9mn in 2022 to under $200,000 this year, according to DeFiLlama. 

The shutdown closes a chapter in blockchain’s long experiment with corporate-grade decentralization, and underlines how little market sentiment forgives elegant engineering without sustained demand.