TIA Token big dump: encryption industry narrative facing test

The TIA Token, which was once highly regarded during the early 2024 bull market, has now fallen below the price at which it was listed on exchanges. As of now, the TIA price is only $1.62, down more than 90% from its peak of around $20. As a former leading project in the modular blockchain space, TIA is now mired in negative public opinion, including issues related to the founder's sell-off and internal management problems.

The decline of this former star Token not only symbolizes the recession of the modular blockchain track but also reflects the deep challenges faced by the entire encryption currency industry. The once-popular narrative is gradually being tested by the market, while the traditional financial market is celebrating at the same time, with the Nasdaq index reaching new highs. This contrast highlights that the encryption industry has entered a new stage that requires real application and substantive value.

From Glory to Fall

Celestia (TIA) was one of the most notable modular blockchain projects from the end of 2023 to the beginning of 2024. During the small bull market in early 2024, the TIA Token price soared from single digits after the airdrop to a high of $20. The project's vision is to combine the sovereign interoperability of Cosmos with the shared security centered around Ethereum.

However, as market enthusiasm cools down in the second half of 2024 and the project ecosystem progresses slowly, the governance and team issues of Celestia gradually come to light. The most controversial aspect is that senior management is accused of collectively cashing out. Reports indicate that as early as early October 2024, all executives of Celestia completed the Token unlocking and began large-scale selling. One co-founder allegedly sold over $25 million worth of tokens in the over-the-counter market and then quietly moved overseas.

Celestia's marketing strategy has also come under scrutiny. Some well-known industry figures are accused of charging high promotion fees to support TIA, while the founders of certain media platforms have been inconsistent regarding whether they hold TIA Tokens, further raising questions within the community about the essence of the project.

The internal management conflicts have also become a focal point. The former head of developer relations was fired for alleged misconduct, causing a public relations uproar. Celestia was also reported to have acquired competitors at high prices and forced them to withdraw from collaborations with other projects, which has sparked considerable controversy in the industry.

Faced with the big dump in coin prices and a crisis of community trust, the co-founders proposed a new governance model of "governance as proof" in early 2025, attempting to replace the traditional proof of stake mechanism with off-chain governance voting. However, this proposal is widely regarded as a stopgap measure to stabilize coin prices and cover up problems. As of now, the price of TIA has fallen more than 90% from its peak, on-chain activity has also significantly decreased, and the on-chain Gas income in the past 24 hours is only $231.

The Collapse of the Encryption Industry Narrative

The decline of TIA is not just a failure of a single project; it reflects the challenges faced by the new narratives of the entire encryption industry. In past market cycles, concepts such as modularity, AI Agent, DePIN, GameFi, and NFT had sparked enthusiasm among capital and investors, but by 2025, these narratives began to collectively collapse, and many altcoins suffered heavy losses.

Similar to TIA, previously favored projects like WorldCoin and Helium relied on strong narratives to accumulate massive traffic and achieve a big dump in coin prices in a short period. However, these projects often cool down rapidly after the hype. The downfall of these star tokens reveals a deep-seated crisis in the encryption industry: without genuine technological innovation and user implementation, narratives and trust will be continuously consumed.

After modularization, it seems difficult to find new narratives in the public chain field. Other popular areas such as the integration of AI and encryption remain mostly at the conceptual stage, while RWA faces dual challenges of regulation and actual demand. The once-promising trends are being debunked one by one, while the traditional financial market continues to receive positive news, with stocks related to stablecoins and compliant exchanges performing strongly in the Hong Kong and US stock markets.

This contrast should not be simply interpreted as "the end of the encryption industry"; rather, it serves as a reminder to project parties: true technological innovation and practical application are the keys to creating value. The traditional hype model is no longer sustainable; current Web3 projects need to focus on practical applications and implementation, much like Web2 projects.