Charles Hoskinson says More Cardano Projects Will Die in 2026

Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson has issued a strong warning about the network’s future, saying more projects could shut down in the second half of 2026 as funding dries up and market conditions remain weak. The warning comes after Cardano analytics platform TapTools announced it will shut down within weeks.

TapTools Shutdown Adds Concern For Cardano’s Ecosystem

TapTools, one of the most widely used dashboards for Cardano traders, recently announced it will shut down operations, citing rising infrastructure costs and the departure of key members of its technical team.

The closure follows another major setback for the ecosystem. Just weeks earlier, JPG Store, Cardano’s largest NFT marketplace, announced it was shutting down after struggling to maintain operations.

Reacting to the latest developments, Hoskinson said he had warned at the beginning of the year that several projects could collapse if the ecosystem failed to find new ways to support builders and businesses.

“We’re going to see a lot of people collapse because the markets are really bad,” Hoskinson said, adding that he expects “a wave of failures” across the network.

Hoskinson Says More DeFi Projects May Die

According to Hoskinson, Cardano’s treasury and community governance system have not moved quickly enough to support struggling projects.

He said that proposals aimed at helping ecosystem companies gain funding and reach the next stage of growth were not approved. While Hoskinson said he personally stepped in to acquire projects such as Nami and Blockfrost, he acknowledged that not every company can be rescued.

“The second half of the year for Cardano, we’re probably going to see more dApps and DeFi die, and a consolidation happen.”

His comments suggest that smaller projects with limited revenue may face increasing pressure if market conditions fail to improve.

Cardano Network Activity Decline as ADA Falls 9%

The warning comes as several key Cardano metrics remain under pressure. Cardano’s total value locked (TVL) has fallen to roughly $118 million, pushing the network behind newer competitors such as Aptos and Mantle. 

At the same time, capital continues to flow toward rival blockchain ecosystems offering stronger growth and developer activity.

Meanwhile, Cardano’s native token, ADA, has fallen 9% over the past 24 hours to trade near $0.19, mirroring the broader crypto market downturn led by Bitcoin’s decline.