Crypto Graveyard: Coins Down 90%+ and Why They Died
2026-09-10
Every cycle buries a few famous coins. This series covers eight entries that each fell at least 90 percent from all-time high and never came back. Each page gives the peak-to-trough facts, the cause of death, the red flags visible beforehand, and the lesson for next time.
How Entries Qualify
An entry qualifies when its token price dropped 90 percent or more from its all-time high on a major quote source, the loss was permanent rather than a short wick, and the project either shut down, was abandoned, was exposed as fraud, or lost its core mechanism. Survivors that recovered are excluded.
| Coin | Peak | Drawdown | Cause | Story |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LUNA / UST | $119.51, Apr 2022 | -99.99% | Death-spiral | Terra collapse |
| FTT | $84.18, Sep 2021 | -99% | Fraud | FTX and FTT |
| CEL | $8.05, Jun 2021 | -99% | Yield | Celsius freeze |
| BitConnect / OneCoin | $463 internal quote | -100% | Ponzi | Classic Ponzis |
| SQUID | $2,861, Nov 2021 | -99.99% | Rug-pull | Squid Game rug |
| HAWK | $0.049, Dec 2024 | -95%+ | Rug-pull | HAWK crash |
| LIBRA | $4.50+, Feb 2025 | -90%+ | Rug-pull | LIBRA Argentina |
| LAPTOP | Feb 2026 peak | -90%+ | Rug-pull | LAPTOP rug |
The 5 Recurring Causes
1. Algorithmic-stable death spiral. Terra showed how a burn-and-mint peg accelerates once confidence breaks.
2. Fraud and misuse of customer funds. FTX convictions and related exchange failures followed customer money into trading bets.
3. Unsustainable yield. Celsius and Anchor promised double-digit returns paid from new deposits or subsidies.
4. Insider-dump rug. Squid Game, HAWK, LIBRA, and LAPTOP allegedly concentrated supply with insiders who sold into hype.
5. Ponzi structure. BitConnect and OneCoin paid early withdrawals from later deposits with no real revenue.
Start Here
New to this series? Read the flagship cautionary tale first: LAPTOP memecoin rug pull, then work through Terra LUNA-UST, FTX and FTT, Celsius and CEL, BitConnect and OneCoin, Squid Game SQUID, HAWK, LIBRA, and LAPTOP.
For background on the crash mechanics, see CoinDesk on what happened to LUNA, Reuters on the FTX sentencing, and the SEC on Celsius and its founder.
Not financial advice. Sources checked: 10 September 2026.