Sablier Labs, the company behind the token-streaming protocol Sablier, has announced it is halting active development and moving into maintenance mode until June 2028. The decision, detailed by co-founder and CEO Paul Razvan Berg in a July 13 blog post, marks the end of nearly four years of intense work. All existing streams and core contracts will continue operating and are now open source.
Why the shutdown?
Berg explained the closure frankly, stating that after a difficult first quarter, he could no longer see a credible path to building a venture-scale, independent business. Token streaming, which Sablier pioneered by allowing continuous transfers over time instead of lump-sum payments, hasn’t gained enough traction to sustain the company. Berg noted that the crypto sector’s biggest demand has been for speculative trading, prediction markets, and lending, not payment streaming. Token streaming became more of a feature than a standalone market niche.
For users with active streams or vesting schedules, the immediate effects are minimal. The protocol’s smart contracts are permissionless and non-custodial, meaning tokens remain safe and functions continue on-chain. Berg assured users there’s no need to exit positions just because Sablier is in maintenance mode.
What changes for users?
The main changes affect the official platform. As of July 13, the Sablier interface no longer allows creating new vesting streams or airdrops past June 2028. It has also stopped supporting open-ended payment streams entirely. No new products or blockchain network expansions are planned. The company will focus solely on maintaining the interface and backend until June 2028.
Berg envisions that after this period, responsibility will shift to the wider community, possibly through a hosted open-source version. June 2028 isn’t a hard shutdown date; it’s when company-funded maintenance ends, but the protocol can continue independently.
A parting gift: early open-source licensing
An important development: Sablier’s EVM smart contracts were originally under Business Source License 1.1, with a planned switch to GNU General Public License (GPL) in July 2029. Berg accelerated this to July 13, 2026, allowing developers to fork, modify, and redeploy immediately. Bankless called this the project’s “parting gift” to the community.
Why things went south
Berg admitted Q1 2026 was tough. Usage and revenue dropped sharply despite delivering more features than any previous quarter. He cited two reasons: clients postponed token launches due to market decline, and AI-assisted coding made Sablier’s services easy to replicate. Other ventures like Sablier Mainnet (a customized EVM rollup), using NFTs as collateral, and AI tools also failed to gain traction.
Sablier had already started retreating from Solana. On June 2, it downsized its Solana front end, though the blockchain program remains active for existing users to make claims.
Sablier’s legacy
Despite the closure, Sablier leaves a mark. It processed activity from over 345,000 Ethereum addresses, completed over 837,000 transactions, and handled over 547,000 vesting plans, airdrop claims, and payment streams. It served over 30 EVM chains plus Solana, and its founder created the ERC-1620 money-streaming standard in 2018. Berg takes pride in the fact that they never had a security incident with user funds.
Looking ahead, Sablier plans to share hosting and handover details before June 2028. Users with streaming accounts lasting beyond that date face the most risk, as any bugs could appear once the team is gone.
