How DeFi Projects Orchestrate Quiet Exits Without Classic Rug Pulls

In 2024, a heavily funded DeFi protocol slowly deteriorated as development stalled, community channels lost support, and governance shifted into vague maintenance. The team did not empty the treasury or insert malicious code, yet the system effectively died while tokens and on-chain liquidity remained. This pattern outlines how incentive decay, regulatory pressure, weak governance, and infrastructure fragility combine to enable silent exits and long-term user risk.