Pantera-backed cross-chain infrastructure startup Everclear is shutting down, ceasing operations of its core user interface, protocol, foundation, and research lab. The announcement, made Thursday on X, confirmed that the protocol has been sunsetted, with the team stating no user funds are stuck and all remaining total value locked (TVL) was withdrawn.
The project, originally launched as Connext and later rebranded, had processed $500 million in monthly volume after pivoting to B2B2C services. However, the team explained that high volume did not translate into sustainable revenue. “Despite reaching $500M in monthly volume, the cross-chain solvers segment never developed the commercial depth we needed — users proved highly price-sensitive, and we were unable to convert that volume into meaningful revenue,” the team said. Several major partners had signed on but did not go live before Everclear’s financial runway ended.
Following the news, the CLEAR token dropped over 48% to trade at $0.0002332, according to CoinGecko. Everclear will use remaining funds to settle outstanding liabilities and may execute a token buyback estimated at $50,000 to $200,000, though this is not guaranteed. The foundation is exploring open-sourcing the protocol, potentially allowing the DAO to continue under new stewardship.
Everclear began in 2017 with a research grant from the Ethereum Foundation and later raised funding from Pantera Capital, Polychain, 1kx, Hashed, and Consensys. Its mainnet launched in April 2025. The shutdown highlights the gap between infrastructure usage and business viability in a market where fee sensitivity and slow enterprise integrations remain persistent challenges.
