Kadena Foundation’s Shutdown Still Rippling Through Markets as Blockchain Moves Forward Without Core Team

The Kadena Foundation’s closure, announced last week, continues to send shockwaves across the crypto community as the blockchain transitions to full community-led operations. Once promoted as a scalable proof-of-work rival to Ethereum, Kadena now faces an uncertain path after its founding team confirmed it would cease all operations due to harsh market conditions and the inability to sustain ongoing development.

In its statement on X, the foundation revealed that it was “no longer able to continue business operations” and would immediately halt all activity and active maintenance. The market reaction was swift and brutal — KDA, Kadena’s native token, crashed over 55% in a single day, falling below $0.09 and erasing nearly all price gains since its 2019 launch. The token continues to trade under pressure, with sentiment remaining largely cautious.

Blockchain Survives Through Decentralization

Despite the foundation’s dissolution, the Kadena blockchain remains operational, powered by independent miners and community developers. A small transition team has been deployed to release a new node binary to maintain network continuity. According to available data, over 566 million KDA tokens remain allocated for mining rewards until 2139, while another 83.7 million are scheduled to unlock by 2029.

This shift effectively places the project’s future in the hands of its community — a test of whether Kadena’s decentralized architecture can sustain growth without centralized leadership. While development activity has slowed, several independent contributors have expressed interest in maintaining parts of the network’s ecosystem.

From High Ambitions to a Critical Crossroad

Founded in 2019 by former JPMorgan engineers Stuart Popejoy and Will Martino, Kadena once promised to revolutionize proof-of-work scalability through its unique multichain “braided” architecture and Pact, its native smart contract language. At its 2021 peak, KDA traded above $25, giving the project a $25 billion valuation during the height of the bull market.

Today, the situation is starkly different. As newer proof-of-stake and modular blockchain ecosystems dominate innovation and capital, Kadena’s next chapter will depend on whether its remaining community can preserve the project’s technology and spirit. The coming weeks will likely determine if Kadena can adapt — or fade into the growing list of once-promising blockchains now surviving only through their miners and believers.

Make money without lifting your fingers: Start using a world-class auto trading solution.

EightCap, your trusted Partner in CFDs, Cryptocurrencies and Stocks.