Kadena blames ‘market conditions’ as founding team exits, tanking token

The native token behind the Kadena layer 1 blockchain plummeted 60% in 90 minutes on Tuesday after its founding team announced it was winding down and ceasing all network maintenance due to “market conditions.” 

In a post to X on Tuesday, Kadena said it “is no longer able to continue business operations and will be ceasing all business activity and active maintenance of the Kadena blockchain immediately.”

“We are tremendously grateful to everybody who has participated in this journey with us. We regret that because of market conditions we are unable to continue to promote and support the adoption of this unique decentralized offering,” it said. 

The “blockchain for business” branded layer 1 was founded in 2016 by Stuart Popejoy and Will Martino.

Popejoy was previously the lead of JPMorgan’s former Blockchain Center of Excellence, while Martino, Kadena’s former CEO, had worked as a tech lead for the Securities and Exchange Commission’s cryptocurrency steering committee before focusing his efforts on Kadena full-time.

The shutdown shows how challenging it is for smaller blockchains to build a sustainable user base and turn a profit amid fierce competition from larger chains like Ethereum and Solana.