Decentralised lending protocol ZeroLend has announced it will shut down operations, citing deteriorating liquidity and inactive blockchains across the networks it supports.
Founder “Ryker” said that several layer-2 chains on which the protocol operated have become significantly less liquid, undermining sustainable revenue and reliable market operations.
“After three years of building and operating the protocol, we have made the difficult decision to wind down operations,”
Ryker said.
The shutdown comes as some oracle providers withdrew support from certain networks, compounding operational challenges and exposing the platform to heightened risk from malicious actors.
ZeroLend’s total value locked has plunged from nearly $359 million in November 2024 to $6.6 million, according to DefiLlama, reflecting a sharp contraction in user deposits.
Ryker said users should withdraw funds immediately and acknowledged that some assets may remain stuck on low-liquidity chains, with planned smart contract upgrades aimed at redistributing trapped balances.
The ZERO token fell 34% in 24 hours following the announcement and has lost nearly all its value since peaking in May 2024, underscoring the fragility of DeFi lending models operating on thin margins across emerging layer-2 ecosystems.
At the time of reporting, ZeroLend price was $0.067818.