DeFi mobile platform Legend has announced plans to shut down after nearly two years of operation, adding another closure to a growing list of crypto applications struggling to remain viable.
Summary
- Legend said it will shut down on July 12 after failing to reach a sustainable scale despite raising $15 million from major crypto investors.
- Former Compound Finance executives launched Legend as a mobile DeFi app designed to combine trading, borrowing, and yield services into one platform.
- Step Finance, Parsec, Balancer Labs, and ZeroLend have also announced closures this year amid hacks, weaker activity, and funding pressure.
According to a statement shared Tuesday by Legend co-founder and chief executive Jayson Hobby, the company decided to wind down operations after concluding the product had not reached a scale that could support the business over the long term.
Hobby said the app had managed to attract users, but sustaining the company and meeting investor expectations ultimately proved difficult.
Built by former Compound Finance executives in late 2024, Legend operated as a non-custodial mobile app that combined services from protocols such as Aave, Compound, and Uniswap into a single interface for trading, borrowing, swapping, and yield generation. The platform promoted itself as a simplified entry point into decentralized finance, allowing users to access DeFi products without constantly switching wallets or applications.
In comments posted alongside the shutdown notice, Hobby said the company initially believed mainstream users would engage with decentralized finance if the interface became easier to use. He argued that most users are not focused on whether a product operates on-chain, but instead care about practical outcomes such as better yields, faster payments, and more direct control over their money.
Back in February 2025, Legend raised $15 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Coinbase Ventures. Even with backing from major crypto investors, the company said long-term sustainability remained out of reach.
More DeFi platforms continue to close
Across the crypto sector, several DeFi projects and infrastructure platforms have announced shutdowns this year as lower activity and weaker market conditions continue pressuring business models.
Earlier this year, Solana-based aggregator Step Finance closed its operations after a January breach compromised executive devices and drained assets later estimated at nearly $40 million. Step Finance stated in February that it had explored funding and acquisition options before concluding that continuing operations was no longer possible. The company later confirmed that its smart contracts were not exploited directly, attributing the incident to compromised endpoints and weak device security controls.
Elsewhere, decentralized finance analytics platform Parsec announced its closure in February after five years in operation. In a statement posted on X, Parsec’s leadership said user activity patterns changed substantially after the collapse of FTX, particularly in DeFi lending markets where leverage failed to recover to earlier cycle levels. The company said temporary traffic spikes tied to products such as Friend.tech dashboards and election-related prediction markets did not translate into sustained growth.
Additional closures have followed in recent months. DeFi protocol Balancer Labs shut down in March after dealing with financial strain linked to a $116 million hack disclosed in November, while Base based lending platform said in April that volatile market conditions contributed to its decision to wind down. ZeroLend also announced plans earlier this year to cease operations, citing an unsustainable business model after roughly three years in operation.
For Legend users, Hobby said the application will remain operational for another 60 days before going offline on July 12. The company has not released active user figures or total value locked data tied to the platform.
