Kadena Shuts Down; Chain Shifts to Community Control

Kadena said it ceased all business operations, citing market pressures, and is ending corporate oversight of the network.

• The blockchain remains live as miners secure the chain; a transition binary will help nodes run without the companys involvement.
• Mining rewards follow the original schedule, with 566 million KDA for miners through 2139; trading spiked, led by Binance users.

Kadena, a proof-of-work blockchain once pitched as a scalable alternative, announced that it shut down corporate operations immediately.

What happened

In a statement on X, the organization said ongoing market conditions made continuation impossible. The team notified employees and confirmed that active maintenance by the company ends as the network transitions to full community control.

KADENA PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT

We regret to announce that the Kadena organization is no longer able to continue business operations and will be ceasing all business activity and active maintenance of the Kadena blockchain immediately.

How the network continues without the company

Kadena said the chain will keep running because independent miners secure it. To support continuity, a small internal group will oversee a transition phase and publish a new node binary so the network operates without the company. Node operators and protocol contributors are expected to coordinate upgrades to prevent service interruptions during the switch.

Mining schedule and token emissions

The project reiterated that mining operations and rewards continue under the original emissions plan. More than 566 million KDA remain allocated to miners, with distributions scheduled into 2139. An additional 83 million KDA are set to unlock by November 2029, keeping long-dated incentives intact for hash power and validator participation.

Community messaging and verification

Confusion followed the announcement as some traders suspected the X account was compromised. Kadena later verified the shutdown on its official Discord, reinforcing that the change reflects an organizational exit, not a chain halt.

Future updates will be shared through official community channels as governance and maintenance move to open stewardship.

Market response and liquidity pockets

Kadena previously received backing from Binance Labs and remains listed on Binance Exchange. Following the announcement, trading activity surged; data cited by market participants showed Binance users drove about $24 million of roughly $70 million in turnover during the sell-off window. For context, Kadenas fully diluted footprint peaked near a $3 billion market capitalization in 2021 before sliding alongside broader risk assets.

Why it matters

The move tests whether a PoW chain can persist on miner security and community governance after a corporate exit. If the transition binary and operator coordination work as described, on-chain continuity should hold. If not, node fragmentation, upgrade lag, or miner churn could pressure reliability and settlement.