XCAD Network, a creator-focused crypto startup backed by MrBeast and KSI, is shutting down after running out of funding and failing to revive its business through fan tokens or AI influencers.
The project wrote in a Thursday post on X that its products and services are no longer being maintained and that there is "no remaining funding" to keep operating after five years in business.
XCAD Network
Built around YouTube creators
XCAD Network launched during the previous crypto cycle with a pitch centered on bringing creators and their audiences on-chain.
Its ecosystem allowed creators to issue fan tokens that viewers could earn and use across XCAD Network products, while the company positioned the model as a new way for YouTubers to monetize and reward their communities.
YouTubers MrBeast, whose real name is Jimmy Donaldson, and KSI, whose real name is Olajide Olatunji, invested in XCAD in 2021.
The company also raised $3.9 million in a private funding round led by Zilliqa, which reportedly valued the project at about $20 million at the time.
But the broader fan-token market never developed into the mass-market business many crypto projects had expected during the 2021 boom.
Exchange listings became a losing battle
XCAD Туецщкл said on Thursday that keeping its XCAD token listed on exchanges had itself become financially unsustainable.
"Staying on exchanges was a losing fight," the company said.
- The deterioration had already become visible earlier this year. KuCoin, once one of the exchanges supporting XCAD trading, announced in April that it would delist the token.
- XCAD Network said it had survived for five years despite never securing what it described as a "T1 listing," a reference to a listing on one of crypto's largest exchanges.
The company also attempted to move beyond its original fan-token model by building around AI influencers, but said that pivot failed to produce a viable replacement business.
No relaunch planned
XCAD Network said it is considering making its code public so others can continue running parts of the technology independently.
But the company stressed that doing so shouldn't be interpreted as XCAD Network continuing under another form.