Single Point of Failure Analysis
What's the ONE thing that could kill each project? Person, company, foundation, or infrastructure.
Disclaimer: This analysis is based on publicly available data and documentation. It is provided for educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice. All assessments represent our methodology's output based on observable data, not accusations. Project structures may change. Submit corrections with evidence.
5
Unkillable
7
Fragile
18
Critical
7
Instant Death
✅ Unkillable (5)
| Project | Score | SPOF Type | The ONE Element | Hypothetical Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin(BTC) | 7.1 | None | - | Unkillable |
| Monero(XMR) | 6.2 | None | - | Unkillable |
| Dogecoin(DOGE) | 6.1 | None | - | Unkillable |
| Bitcoin Cash(BCH) | 6.1 | None | - | Unkillable |
| Litecoin(LTC) | 5.9 | None | - | Unkillable |
⚠️ Fragile (Can Survive) (7)
| Project | Score | SPOF Type | The ONE Element | Hypothetical Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kaspa(KAS) | 6.1 | None | Small dev team | Survivable via open source |
| Polkadot(DOT) | 6.5 | Person | Founder | Vision lost, but Substrate survives |
| Ethereum(ETH) | 5.2 | Person | Founder (social influence) | Survives, loses direction |
| Ethereum Classic(ETC) | 5.8 | None | Small community | Survives as zombie chain |
| Uniswap(UNI) | 4.7 | Protocol | Immutable contracts | Labs gone = frontend gone, forks possible |
| DAI(DAI) | 5.0 | Protocol | USDC collateral risk | Issuer freeze = DAI destabilized |
| Lido(LDO) | 4.6 | Protocol | Ethereum-dependent | ETH dies = Lido dies |
🔴 Critical (Death if SPOF fails) (18)
| Project | Score | SPOF Type | The ONE Element | Hypothetical Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cosmos Hub(ATOM) | 5.8 | Foundation | ICF + internal conflicts | SDK survives, Hub fragile |
| Zcash(ZEC) | 4.9 | Foundation | ECC + ZF | Two orgs = some redundancy |
| Aave(AAVE) | 3.7 | Person | Founder | Survivable, governance exists |
| Filecoin(FIL) | 6.2 | Company | Protocol Labs | Labs gone = slow death |
| Cardano(ADA) | 5.4 | Multiple | Founder + Single Client | Founder-dependent |
| NEAR(NEAR) | 5.3 | Foundation | NEAR Foundation | Foundation gone = dead |
| Sui(SUI) | 5.1 | Company | Mysten Labs | Labs gone = dead |
| Bittensor(TAO) | 5.0 | Multiple | Opentensor + Infra | Centralized infra, Foundation-dependent |
| TON(TON) | 5.0 | Foundation | TON Foundation | Post-Telegram, but fragile |
| Aptos(APT) | 4.6 | Company | Aptos Labs | Labs gone = dead |
| Avalanche(AVAX) | 4.4 | Company | Ava Labs | Labs gone = dead |
| Chainlink(LINK) | 4.4 | Multiple | Founder + Labs | Founder leaves = project fragile |
| Injective(INJ) | 4.2 | Company | Injective Labs | Labs gone = dead |
| Polygon(POL) | 4.1 | Company | Polygon Labs | Labs gone = dead |
| Stellar(XLM) | 3.8 | Foundation | SDF (35% supply) | SDF exit = collapse |
| Arbitrum(ARB) | 3.5 | Infrastructure | Centralized Sequencer | Sequencer down = L2 down |
| Solana(SOL) | 3.4 | Multiple | Foundation + Single Client | Client bug = 100% down |
| Internet Computer(ICP) | 3.3 | Company | DFINITY | DFINITY gone = instant death |
💀 Instant Death (Kill-switch + Critical SPOF) (7)
| Project | Score | SPOF Type | The ONE Element | Hypothetical Risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hedera(HBAR) | 1.0 | Foundation | Council (39 corps) | Council dissolves = dead |
| Hyperliquid(HYPE) | 1.0 | Foundation | Foundation (58% stake) | High exit risk based on stake concentration |
| XRP(XRP) | 1.0 | Company | Ripple Labs | Ripple gone = dead |
| Tron(TRX) | 1.0 | Person | Founder | Founder exits = dead |
| BNB Chain(BNB) | 1.0 | Company | Binance | Binance closed = dead |
| Tether(USDT) | 1.0 | Company | Tether Ltd (iFinex) | Bank run = dead |
| USDC(USDC) | 1.0 | Company | Circle | Regulated, but centralized |
Key Insight
Only 5 out of 37 projects have no identifiable Single Point of Failure. All of them share common traits:
- 1.Proof of Work - No staking requirements, anyone can mine
- 2.Fair Launch - No premine, no VC allocation, no foundation treasury
- 3.Founder Exit - Original creators stepped back or disappeared
- 4.No Kill Switch - No admin keys, no pause functions
“If ONE person, company, or foundation can kill your chain,
it's not decentralized - it's a startup with extra steps.”
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