Overview
- Router Protocol announced it will cease all operations and wind down by Sept. 30, 2026 while permanently burning 303,333,198 ROUTE from its treasury.
- The team said yearlong efforts to commercialize, license, or sell the technology failed to produce a sustainable buyer or business that could support a protocol team.
- Router acknowledged two security incidents in 2025, one in February with about 80% of funds recovered after negotiation and a July chain-level exploit with unrecovered losses, which weakened confidence in the project.
- The project said it had directed fees into buyback-and-burn programs instead of building cash reserves, leaving no financial cushion when bridge revenues fell short of operating costs.
- ROUTE’s market price plunged and exchanges have begun operational steps, including KuCoin suspending deposits, forcing token holders to follow individual exchange delisting timetables and developers to migrate integrations before the September deadline.