Summary
- Shaw Walters, founder of Eliza Labs, declared the ELIZAOS token “completely” dead, stated its foundation is closing and urged holders to sell, while vowing to keep building the underlying software without a new token.
- ELIZAOS, which replaced the once–$2.4 billion AI16Z token, has fallen about 97% from its peak to a roughly $2.3 million market value amid litigation and a settlement that drained the foundation’s remaining treasury.
- A proposed class action in federal court accuses the project of misleading investors about being an autonomous, AI-run venture fund and diluting holders during the AI16Z-to-ELIZAOS migration, highlighting the broader rise and unraveling of AI agent–themed crypto tokens.
Nineteen months after AI16Z reached a $2.4 billion market cap, the founder of the project behind it has declared its successor token, ELIZAOS, dead and told holders to sell.
Shaw Walters, founder of Eliza Labs and the open-source ElizaOS agent framework, stated the ELIZAOS token is finished and its foundation is closing.
“The token is dead. Completely,” Walters wrote on X earlier Wednesday. He stated there would be no further foundation support, buybacks or supply measures, and that he plans to continue building the software without launching another token.
I guess I should say something about the token
Look. I worked my ass off to the point I got a frozen shoulder and severe health issues from overworking and typing, and it was never enough
We built cool shit but it was completely ignored because number down
It felt like the…
— Shaw (spirit/acc) (@shawmakesmagic) August 4, 2026
ELIZAOS trades near $0.00031 with a market cap of about $2.3 million, down 97% from its high. AI16Z, the token it replaced through a migration, peaked at $2.39 billion on Jan. 2, 2025, when daily volume reached $291 million. CoinGecko still lists the abandoned AI16Z contract separately, with a market cap of roughly $375,000 as of early U.S. hours.
Walters pinned the shutdown on litigation. He stated the foundation transferred its remaining treasury and available funds to settle with a group of holders represented by Burwick Law.
