Ash Liew, the founder of Momento Research, a blockchain intelligence platform that tracked 118 token generation events this year, found that 100 of these tokens have fallen below their valuations at the time of launch. The data says that “84.7% (100/118) are below TGE valuation” with the median token collapsing by 71% from its launch price, with only 18 tokens, or 15%, managing to stay above water. This means that roughly 4 out of 5 launches are below their opening valuation. Liew ended his post on X with a damning verdict, stating, “TGE isn’t early anymore.” Projects like Syndicate saw the highest drop, falling by 93.64% since its launch valuation, and it is closely followed by Animecoin, Berachain, and Bio Protocol, all of which have fallen by over 93%, respectively. How did the tokens launched in 2025 do? The data paints a grim picture of the 2025 token launch space, which was previously known to see price appreciation immediately after TGEs. Venture capital firms usually invest in these projects at valuations that can be 10, 100, or even 1,000 times cheaper than what retail investors pay when tokens become publicly available. By the time ordinary investors gain access at the token generation event, insiders have already secured their positions at way lower prices. Venture funding in the first quarter of 2025 alone reached $4.8 billion, and in Q3, crypto startups and projects pulled $4.59 billion in funding, with much of that capital flowing to late-stage companies. Meanwhile, retail investors face an increasingly difficult environment, buying tokens at inflated, fully diluted valuations that leave little room for appreciation. Could the fall be as a result of market conditions? Periodic sell-offs and sharp price adjustments in major digital assets like Bitcoin and Ether have also contributed to risk aversion among investors. Both leading assets have fallen from the respective highs they hit this year. The alt season that usually accompanies the rise of Bitcoin didn’t occur as expected. When it looked like the market was set to go parabolic, the market experienced the infamous “ 1011 crash ,” a sudden collapse in October that has left the market in a prolonged correction phase, accompanied by a series of liquidations and downward pressure. These crypto benchmarks have amplified the challenges faced by new token entrants, as investor capital flows toward safe-haven assets or established tokens. Industry observers have also noted that an oversupply of token launches has diluted liquidity and fragmented investor interest. Even as niche sectors such as memecoins or specific network ecosystems generate pockets of demand, the cumulative effect of continuous new supply has hampered sustainable price momentum. However, not all assets have performed poorly this year, as a few large-cap projects and established networks, such as Zora, Bedrock, Humanity, and Yooldo Games, have fared better, with YZI Labs-backed Aster’s token rising by over 700% from its launch price. Sign up to Bybit and start trading with $30,050 in welcome gifts
