A lot of alts come and go very quickly.
WAVES's hype came from its ICO initially but the development and hype around it did not sustain, it was as simple as that. There is virtually no use for their DEX which is why there is a lack of adoption, and when there is a lack of fundamentals it makes it hard for speculators to bet on it.
It could still make some short term sizable gains from pump and dumps, but honestly in the long run it has no apparent future.