"Even $8 Billion Was Useless"...VC-backed Coins 'Evaporate' Up to 99% After Listing

▲ Venture Capital, Virtual Assets/AI Generated Image

Major virtual asset projects, once valued at billions of dollars, have recorded drops of up to 99% since their listings, severely shaking market confidence.

According to crypto media outlet BeInCrypto on April 12 (local time), data from virtual asset analytics platform CryptoRank shows that the current market capitalization of 10 major projects that received high valuations during private investment rounds has plummeted from $7 million to $294 million. The decline rate compared to their enterprise value at the time of the last investment round ranged from at least 88% to over 99%. Notably, four of the top 10 projects with the largest declines were concentrated in zero-knowledge proof and Layer 2 fields.

Ethereum Layer 2 project Scroll (SCR) recorded the largest drop, declining 99.54% from its enterprise value. Scroll received $80 million in investment from Polychain Capital and others, valuing it at $1.8 billion, but its current market capitalization remains at approximately $8.25 million. Boba Network fell by 99.26%, and Fuel Network, which was valued at $1 billion, also plummeted by 99.25%, effectively showing a collapse in asset value.

In terms of absolute loss, Starknet (STRK) appears to have suffered the biggest blow. Starknet raised $282.5 million with an enterprise value of $8 billion through investments from Paradigm and Sequoia Capital, but its current market capitalization is approximately $199 million, meaning about 95% has evaporated. The industry views this as a prime example of a project that failed to pass market validation after listing, despite support from major venture capitalists.

In addition, Polyhedra fell by 99.05%, while Wormhole and Magic Eden recorded decline rates of 96.99% and 96.70% respectively. HashKey Group (96.46%), Mocaverse (90.23%), and Immutable (88.23%) were also included in the top 10.

Experts diagnose that the phenomenon of highly-valued projects, led by famous venture capitalists, failing to withstand the market's cold evaluation and collapsing after listing is recurring. In particular, the analysis indicates that the structural problem of excessive valuation in the early investment stages leading to price collapse after listing has not yet been resolved.

Meanwhile, despite sluggish returns, venture capital investment activity is expanding again. In March 2026 alone, approximately 100 investment rounds were conducted, raising a total of $2.59 billion. This is the highest level since October 2025. Coinbase Ventures and Animoca Brands led the investments.

By sector, blockchain services accounted for the most with 39 cases, followed by decentralized finance (20 cases) and centralized finance (15 cases). The market is paying attention to the possibility that the continued influx of funds, despite large-scale losses, could lead to further overvaluation controversies in the future.

*Disclaimer: This article is for investment reference only and does not take responsibility for investment losses based on it. The content should be interpreted for informational purposes only.*