Original: Coingecko
Compiled by: Yuliya, PANews
This study analyzes the price performance of the top 150 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization listed on the CoinGecko platform as of December 25, 2024, by comparing the price changes from January 1, 2024, or the earliest available data date, to comprehensively examine the annual investment returns in the cryptocurrency market. To ensure the accuracy and reference value of the data, the study specifically excludes derivative assets such as stablecoins, wrapped tokens, pegged assets, staked assets, and re-staked assets.
What are the top-performing cryptocurrency projects in 2024?
Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) achieved an astonishing increase of 23,079.2%, making it the best-performing large-cap cryptocurrency of 2024. The price of $VIRTUAL started at $0.01311 at the beginning of the year, mostly remaining below $0.20, but suddenly surged in the fourth quarter, reaching a peak of $3.04 on December 25. This strong upward trend was driven by the viral spread of the AI agent platform of Virtuals Protocol, attracting a large number of cryptocurrency investors seeking dual investment opportunities in AI and Meme coins.
From an investment return perspective, if an investor had invested $100 in $VIRTUAL on January 1 and held it until Christmas, they would have made a profit of $23,079.
Following closely is Brett (BRETT), which has risen 14,784.6% to $0.145 since its launch at $0.0009766 on February 29, despite a decline from its historical high of $0.234 set on December 1. Brett's significant increase makes it the only Base chain Meme coin to reach a market capitalization of $1 billion so far.
In third place is another Meme coin project, Popcat (POPCAT), which saw its price rise from $0.007640 on January 1 to $0.8067 on December 25, an increase of 10,459.0%. Although Popcat was launched at the end of last year and became one of the leading Meme coins in the Solana ecosystem, its price did not start breaking new highs until March of this year. Popcat became the first cat-themed Meme coin to surpass a market cap of $1 billion on September 27 and maintained that status for several months before experiencing a decline.
Notably, 7 out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies with the highest increases this year are Meme coins. In addition to Brett and Popcat, other high-performing Meme coins include:
Another cat-themed token, Mog Coin (MOG), which increased by 6,051.0%;
AI-generated frog Meme coin Turbo (TURBO), which rose by 3,036.0%;
Recently launched Pump.fun projects Fartcoin and AI agent investment fund ai16z, which increased by 2,890.5% and 1,409.9%, respectively;
And Pepe (PEPE), which rose by 1,400.6%.
Surpassing the performance during the mid-2023 Meme coin frenzy, solidifying its status as one of the major Meme coins.
Beyond Meme coins, $OM and $AERO
In this Meme coin-dominated year, $OM and $AERO also recorded significant gains. MANTRA (OM) ranked fourth with an annual increase of 6,418.3%, with its price rising from $0.0584 on January 1 to $3.81 on December 25, making it the best-performing RWA investment project of the year, with a return rate nine times that of the second-best RWA project, Ondo Finance (ONDO).
Meanwhile, the decentralized exchange Aerodrome Finance (AERO) on the Base chain ranked sixth, with an annual increase of 3,139.4%, rising from $0.0511 on January 1 to $1.66 on December 25, benefiting from the popularity of Meme coins and the Base ecosystem, which drove an increase in on-chain trading volume.
Bitcoin's Steady Growth, Ethereum's Underperformance
Bitcoin (BTC) recorded a 133.8% increase in 2024, with its price steadily climbing from $42,208 on January 1 to $98,696 on December 25, comparable to the 162.5% increase in 2023. Among the 123 large-cap cryptocurrencies analyzed, it ranked 39th, outperforming the remaining 84 cryptocurrencies. This means that, like last year, the probability of randomly selecting a cryptocurrency that outperformed Bitcoin's growth in 2024 is about one in three.
On the other hand, Ethereum (ETH) had a lower increase of 53.4% in 2024, with its price recovering from $2,280 on January 1 to $3,498 on December 25, only half of the 98.6% increase in 2023. Throughout the year, Ethereum's price fluctuated, testing the $4,000 mark several times but failing to break through the peak of 2021.
As of December 25, the returns of the top ten cryptocurrencies ranged from 1,400.6% to 23,079.2%. Holding any of these cryptocurrencies would yield at least 10 times the performance of Bitcoin and 26 times that of Ethereum.
Top Crypto 2024
In 2024, ranked by price increase, the 20 most profitable cryptocurrencies along with Bitcoin and Ethereum are as follows:
Popular Cryptocurrencies in 2023
In 2023, the price return rates of the top 10 cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, are as follows:
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