Altcoins slump in 2025 — 85% of new tokens trade below TGE as majority enter ‘graveyard’
Altcoins suffered heavy losses across 2025, with newly launched tokens hit hardest. Research from Memento shows 84.73% of tokens that launched in 2025 are trading below their Token Generation Event (TGE) prices; only 15.30% remain above TGE levels. The broader altcoin market also declined—about 60% of tokens are down between 70% and 99%, a range described as the “graveyard zone.” Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, 88 showed no profitability over the past three months; just 11 stayed above their three-month lows, averaging ~324% gains (led by PIPPIN at +2,354%). Recent narrative-driven sectors—privacy, social tokens and staking services—posted the strongest seven-day weighted gains (11.1%, 10.2%, and 7.1%, respectively), suggesting capital continues to concentrate selectively on prevailing narratives. The data imply investing in new altcoins was largely unprofitable in 2025 and that the bear market trend could persist into 2026, with traders favoring narrative-led assets for relative resilience and higher return potential.
Bearish
The data describe broad, deep losses concentrated among newly launched altcoins—84.73% trading below TGE—while ~60% of tokens sit 70–99% down. Such widespread capital flight and persistent selling pressure are classic bear-market signals that reduce liquidity and raise tail-risk for speculative tokens. Historical parallels include the post-ICO crashes of 2018–2019 and late-2021/2022 altcoin drawdowns, where mass underperformance by new token cohorts prolonged market weakness and pushed capital into fewer narrative-led pockets (e.g., DeFi in 2020, NFTs in 2021). Short term, expect elevated volatility, low liquidity for small-cap tokens, and selective rotation into narratives (privacy, social tokens, staking) that may briefly outperform. Stop-losses and reduced position sizes are prudent for traders in small-cap altcoins. Long term, if macro/Bitcoin-led recovery arrives, some high-quality projects could rebound, but prolonged bear conditions risk permanent capital losses for many new tokens; thus, risk-adjusted capital allocation and emphasis on on-chain fundamentals and liquidity metrics will remain essential.