Discover the top 10 crypto gainers of 2024, with price surges from 1,401% to 23,079%. Explore insights into Virtuals Protocol, Brett, Popcat, and more.
Virtuals Protocol Leads with Record-Breaking 23,079% Returns
Virtuals Protocol ($VIRTUAL) is the top-performing cryptocurrency of 2024, delivering a remarkable 23,079.2% price increase. Starting the year at just $0.01311, the token surged to $3.04 by December 25, driven by the growing popularity of its AI agents launchpad. This innovation tapped into the year’s dominant narratives: AI and meme coins.
What Made Virtuals Protocol Stand Out?
Virtuals Protocol captured investor interest with its combination of AI and meme coin appeal, two of the most prominent crypto trends this year. Investors who held $100 worth of $VIRTUAL at the start of the year could have cashed out $23,079 by Christmas.
Brett and Popcat Follow as Meme Coins Dominate
The second-highest gainer, Brett ($BRETT), saw a 14,784.6% price increase, reaching $0.145 by December 25. Despite a price correction from its all-time high of $0.234 on December 1, Brett became the first Base chain meme coin to hit a $1 billion market cap.
Popcat ($POPCAT), another meme coin, recorded gains of 10,459.0%. Starting the year at $0.007640, it peaked at $0.8067 on December 25. Its rally was fueled by its success as a leading Solana meme coin and its milestone of reaching a $1 billion market capitalization on September 27.
Seven Meme Coins Dominate the Top 10
Meme coins made up seven of the top 10 gainers in 2024, including:
- Mog Coin (MOG): +6,051.0%
- Turbo (TURBO): +3,036.0%
- Fartcoin (FARTCOIN): +2,890.5%
- Pepe (PEPE): +1,400.6%
MANTRA and Aerodrome Excel Outside Meme Coins
MANTRA ($OM) ranked fourth, delivering 6,418.3% returns, while Aerodrome Finance ($AERO) secured the sixth spot with 3,139.4% gains. These projects benefited from their focus on Real World Asset (RWA) investments and the Base chain decentralized exchange ecosystem, respectively.
How Bitcoin and Ethereum Fared in 2024
- Bitcoin (BTC): Recorded steady gains of 133.8%, reaching $98,696 by December 25.
- Ethereum (ETH): Gained 53.4%, closing the year at $3,498, underperforming compared to its 2023 returns of 98.6%.
Crypto Gainers of 2024 vs. 2023
In comparison to 2023, where Bonk and Injective were top gainers, the 2024 top 10 featured much higher returns, showcasing the influence of meme coin narratives and Base chain projects.
Photo on the left: Top gainers of the year 2024. Photo on the right: Top gainers of the year 2023.
Key Takeaways and Methodology
Key Takeaways and Methodology
The top 10 crypto gainers of 2024 achieved returns ranging from 1,400.6% to 23,079.2%, outperforming Bitcoin and Ethereum by significant margins.
Methodology:
This study examined the price returns of the 150 largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization on CoinGecko as of December 25, 2024. Stablecoins and wrapped tokens were excluded.
For more detailed insights, visit CoinGecko’s official article.
