ZeroLend announced Monday that it is winding down operations after three years, with founder “Ryker” saying the protocol had become unsustainable. The core issue was not a single exploit or market crash, but a slow bleed

Several of the layer 2 networks ZeroLend operated on saw activity and liquidity dry up, while some oracle providers stopped supporting those chains altogether. That made it harder to run lending markets reliably, and revenues failed to keep up with costs.

At its peak in November 2024, ZeroLend held nearly $359 million in total value locked. That figure has now collapsed by about 98% to roughly $6.6 million. The ZERO token fell another 34% in the past 24 hours and is down 99% from its 2024 high.

This story is an excerpt from the Unchained Daily newsletter.

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Users are being urged to withdraw funds, though some assets remain stuck on thinly traded networks. The team says it plans contract upgrades to help redistribute stranded liquidity. For token holders, however, the project’s closure appears final.

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