Last updated on March 6th, 2026 at 02:38 pm
On-chain analytics firm Parsec is shutting down after five years in operation, citing major shifts in crypto trading flows and on-chain activity.
“Parsec is shutting down,”
the company announced in a post on X on Thursday. CEO Will Sheehan said the firm’s strategy ultimately fell out of alignment with the direction of the broader crypto market.
After 5 years, parsec is shutting down. Not how we wanted our story to end, but we are proud of what we built and the value we provided along the way.
We are eternally grateful to those that traversed the ups and downs onchain with us. It was quite the ride 🔭
— parsec (@parsec_finance) February 19, 2026
“The market zigged while we zagged a few too many times,”
Sheehan wrote, explaining that Parsec’s heavy focus on decentralized finance (DeFi) and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) no longer matched industry momentum.
Post-FTX shift in DeFi activity
Sheehan pointed to structural changes following the collapse of FTX in late 2022, particularly in DeFi lending markets.
“Post FTX DeFi spot lending leverage never really came back in the same way,”
he said.
“It changed, morphed into something we understood less.”
NFT markets have also cooled significantly. According to CryptoSlam data, NFT sales reached approximately $5.63 billion in 2025, a 37% decline from the $8.9 billion recorded in 2024. Average sale prices fell year over year from $124 to $96.
Backed by major crypto investors
Founded in early January 2021, Parsec launched during a period of rapid market expansion. Within months, Bitcoin surged from roughly $36,000 to $60,000 by April 2021.
The firm attracted backing from major industry players, including Uniswap, Polychain Capital and Galaxy Digital.
“It was quite the ride,”
Parsec said in its farewell message, adding that it is “eternally grateful” to supporters who navigated the industry’s volatility alongside the company.
Alex Svanevik, CEO of on-chain analytics platform Nansen, commented that Parsec “had a great run.”
Signs of broader consolidation
The closure follows other recent exits in the sector. Crypto startup Entropy recently announced it would shut down and return funds to investors, citing scaling challenges and difficulty achieving product-market fit.
Meanwhile, Tom Farley, CEO of Bullish, told CNBC earlier this month that the crypto industry could see significant consolidation in the coming months, with smaller firms acquired by larger players.
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