ARK Invest researcher predicts more crypto shutdowns

ARK Invest’s director of digital assets research, Lorenzo Valente, said on July 28 that crypto is entering its deepest consolidation phase, with revenue and investment flowing toward fewer businesses. Summary Hyperliquid and Pump.fun generate 67% of application revenue, according to ARK researcher Lorenzo Valente’s analysis. ARK’s Q1 report recorded application revenue falling 23% quarter-over-quarter to approximately $485 million across protocols. Storj’s Chapter 11 filing and BitMEX’s shutdown provide recent evidence of accelerating industry consolidation pressures. He said Hyperliquid and Pump.fun account for 67% of application revenue and that adding Ethena lifts the top-three share to almost 80%. Valente expects more mergers and acquisitions, Chapter 11 filings, shutdowns and talent-focused acquisitions in the coming months. He also claimed revenue concentration had reached record levels across applications, middleware and Layer 1 networks. However, his post did not identify the dataset, category definitions or measurement period behind those figures. ARK Invest data shows application revenue concentrating ARK’s Q1 2026 DeFi report provides earlier evidence of concentration, a...