Router Protocol will shut down all remaining operations by Sept. 30 after failing to build a sustainable bridge business.

The cross-chain infrastructure project said it spent the past year exploring commercialization, licensing, and acquisition opportunities, including talks with teams that could take over parts of its technology stack.

However, none of this process produced an outcome that could support the protocol team.

Router blamed the economics of cross-chain infrastructure, where bridge fees have compressed while the cost of running always-on systems remains largely fixed. It explained:

“Much of crypto’s demand revealed itself to be dopamine wearing a painkiller’s clothes: when the speculative tide went out, the fee pool that…