Linera and Switchboard Shut Down After Weak Funding
Linera failed to raise the minimum funding and is shutting down before mainnet; Switchboard is scaling back after exploits and pressure from cheaper AI tools and a weak bear market.
Key Takeaways
- Linera is shutting down immediately and indefinitely after raising just under $900,000 through Sonar against a minimum target of $1.5 million USDC.
- Switchboard is asking developers to move to Pyth or RedStone; remaining support ends on September 25, 2026.
- Both shutdowns fit into a year in which more than 260 crypto projects have already disappeared because of weak funding and a shrinking market.
Two crypto projects, Linera and Switchboard, stopped operating within a day of each other. The shutdowns fit into a year in which more than 260 crypto projects have already disappeared, while crypto market trackers show capital and users shifting more and more toward a smaller number of platforms.
Linera Shuts Down Before Mainnet
Linera said on September 18 that it is shutting down immediately and indefinitely. The project raised nearly $900,000 (€785,300) through a sale on Sonar, but that fell short of the minimum target of $1.5 million (€1.3 million) USDC. All contributions have therefore been refunded.
The team then tried to arrange emergency funding to carry the company through to mainnet, but that did not work. Linera had previously raised $12 million (€10.5 million) in two seed rounds, with a16z crypto as lead investor in 2022 and Borderless Capital in 2023.
The app is going offline and the Discord server is also being shut down. Points will remain in the records, but the team says it cannot guarantee they will count for anything later.
Switchboard Points to the Market and AI
Switchboard Technology Labs followed on September 19 and asked developers to switch to providers like Pyth or RedStone. The company said remaining support ends on September 25, 2026.
In its statement, Switchboard cites recent exploits and exhausting all other options as reasons for the wind-down. The team also explains that AI tools have made building an oracle cheaper, while the bear market is slowing new chain launches and shrinking budgets.
That combination makes it clear why smaller projects are having the hardest time. In 2026, more than 100 crypto projects have already shut down, and according to RootData, the list keeps growing. The tracker counts several kinds of endings, from bankruptcies to announced shutdowns and sites that have been inactive for a long time.
What This Says About the Market
For European crypto followers, this shows how tough the selection process in the industry is right now. Not every project makes it to a live product, especially when funding falls short or when a service has to compete in a more crowded and cheaper market. That can also matter for teams building on infrastructure like blockchain, because the bar for usage, revenue, and security keeps getting higher there. Earlier this year, the broader crypto shakeout already showed how the sector is moving toward consolidation faster because of weak business models and scarce funding.
