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Mark Cuban-backed DeFi dashboard Zapper shutters after 7 years
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- DeepHorus
Decentralized finance (DeFi) analytics platform Zapper announced it will shut down next month, joining a growing list of crypto platforms folding amid a prolonged market downturn. In a post to X on Wednesday, CEO Seb Audet stated that Zapperâs website, mobile app, and API services will cease operations on August 3, ending a seven-year run that included backing from billionaire investor Mark Cuban in 2021.
Zapper was founded in 2019 and gained early traction by winning one of Kyberâs DeFi Hackathon events, which helped it secure a $1.5 million seed round. The platform raised an additional $15 million in a Series A funding round in May 2021, led by Framework Ventures, with participation from Cuban, Coinbase Ventures, and the Ashton Kutcher-founded Sound Ventures. Zapper allowed crypto traders to track token prices, follow DeFi trends, and connect wallets to monitor positions and manage liquidity pools.
At its peak, Zapper served over 2 million monthly active users and oversaw more than $13 billion in processed transactions. Despite these achievements, Audet hinted that falling demand drove the shutdown, stating, âAt the end of the day, the market decides.â The company did not share specific reasons but noted that it evaluated various options before deciding an orderly wind-down was the best course.
Zapper adds to a wave of crypto platform closures. Cardano-based TapTools shut down in June, Bitcoin-focused Botanix followed a week later, and platforms like SBIâs crypto unit, decentralized email service Dmail, and NFT marketplaces Nifty Gateway and Rodeo have also sunset operations this year amid reduced NFT activity. This trend reflects a broader market sentiment that has sunk to near all-time lows.
The decision comes as venture capital funding has become harder to secure, despite a 57.6% year-on-year increase to $4.21 billion in the second quarter. According to RootData, deal count has fallen nine times over the last ten quarters, with capital becoming increasingly concentrated among fewer projects. Zapper itself suffered a major setback in April 2025 when a social engineering attack temporarily hijacked its domain, redirecting users to a malicious phishing page.
Looking ahead, the crypto analytics space faces an uncertain future as demand wanes and investor caution persists. While Zapperâs team scaled the product impressively, the marketâs current dynamics have proven unsustainable for many platforms. The shutdown serves as a reminder that even well-backed projects can succumb to shifting conditions, and the industry may see further consolidation before a recovery emerges.
