Each bull cycle introduces a "young and bold" blockchain to the stage. Marketers promise millions of transactions per second (TPS), negligible fees, and the status of "Ethereum Killer." But years go by, and these projects turn into digital ghost towns.
Let's dust off the charts and see what has become of the heroes of past years.
🏺 Exhibit #1: EOS — King of ICOs (2018)
In 2018, EOS raised a record $4 billion in its ICO. It was called the most advanced blockchain in the world.
Promise: Full scalability and no fees.
Reality: Excessive centralization (only 21 validators) led to management chaos and a loss of developer interest.
Where is it now? The project still exists, trying to rebrand, but its market cap has fallen from the top 5 to a deep 'second tier'.
🏺 Exhibit #2: NEO — China's Ethereum (2017)
One of the brightest projects of the 2017 era. NEO offered a unique dual-token model (NEO + GAS) and support for multiple programming languages.
Promise: To become the main platform for the digital economy in Asia.
Reality: Regulatory pressure in China and the slow update of the network (transitioning to N3 took forever) cooled investors' enthusiasm.
Where is it now? A niche project with a loyal community, but it completely lost the battle for the global DeFi and NFT market.
🧐 Lessons we (again) didn't learn
Why do 'killers' die, while Ethereum, despite high fees, remains king?
Liquidity is more important than technology. You can build a super-fast highway, but if no one drives on it, it will grow over with grass. All the money and users are in EVM-compatible networks.
Network effect. Developers go where there are other developers and ready-made code libraries.
Marketing vs Reality. High TPS in the testnet almost never means stable operation under real load in the main network.
💡 How not to buy 'digital antiques' in this cycle?
Before investing in yet another L1 blockchain that promises to change the world, ask three questions:
Who's building there? Check the number of active developers (not just the token price).
Where is the TVL? Total Value Locked shows whether capital trusts this network.
What's unique? If a project is just 'like Ether, but faster,' it will likely be eaten by L2 solutions (Arbitrum, Optimism, Base).
Opinion:
History is cyclical. Today's favorites may become exhibits in our crypto-archaeology museum tomorrow.
Which project from the last cycle is still lying in your portfolio as 'dead weight'? Comment below, let's remember together! 👇
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