Major exchanges remove KDA trading
Bybit and OKX are both removing Kadena’s KDA token from their platforms following Tuesday’s announcement that the company behind the blockchain is ceasing operations. OKX has already suspended KDA deposits and will stop spot trading on October 26, with trading pairs removed by October 29. Customer withdrawals will remain available until January 22, 2026.
Bybit has ended all lending and borrowing services involving KDA and will terminate perpetual contracts starting October 24. The coordinated delisting actions come as the token’s value collapsed, dropping more than 65% in a single day to around $0.072.
Kadena organization shuts down
The official Kadena account on X posted Tuesday that “the Kadena organization is no longer able to continue business operations and will be ceasing all business activity and active maintenance of the Kadena blockchain immediately.” The company cited unfavorable market conditions as the reason for shutting down.
Founded in 2020 by former JP Morgan executives Stuart Popejoy and William Martino, Kadena had positioned itself as “the blockchain for business” using proof-of-work consensus similar to Bitcoin. The founders previously worked on JP Morgan’s early blockchain projects before launching their own network.
Network continues despite company closure
Interestingly, the Kadena blockchain itself will continue operating despite the company’s shutdown. The team explained that the network runs independently through decentralized proof-of-work mining and smart contracts managed by individual maintainers. Developers plan to release an updated binary to ensure the network continues without their direct involvement.
This separation between the company and the blockchain protocol highlights how decentralized networks can theoretically outlive their founding organizations. Still, the market reaction suggests investors see the company’s departure as a significant blow to the project’s future prospects.
Price collapse and historical context
The KDA token’s current price of $0.072 represents a staggering 99.7% decline from its 2021 peak of $27.64. The project, which once claimed it could surpass Bitcoin and prove more trustworthy than Ethereum, ultimately failed to maintain momentum in the competitive blockchain space.
I think what’s particularly striking here is how quickly major exchanges moved to delist the token. Usually there’s some grace period, but both Bybit and OKX acted within 24 hours of the announcement. Perhaps they’re being extra cautious given the circumstances, or maybe they see little future for the token without the founding company’s support.
The situation raises questions about how decentralized a project truly is when its value collapses immediately upon the founding company’s departure. While the technology might continue running, the market clearly values the organizational support behind these networks more than we sometimes acknowledge.
