The cryptocurrency market experienced significant fluctuations throughout the year, with altcoins, digital assets beyond Bitcoin, displaying considerable volatility and price movements. Generally, altcoins tend to follow Bitcoin’s trend, with periods of substantial Bitcoin growth often preceding major increases in altcoin markets. This phenomenon is frequently referred to as “alt season” by experienced cryptocurrency traders. While Bitcoin saw a respectable 121% price increase between New Year’s Day and Christmas Eve, several altcoins far surpassed this performance, with some experiencing gains ranging from 1,249% to an astounding 1,847,357%. This underlines the potent return on investments offered in the volatile alternative coin landscape and the associated high risks.
## The Rise of Top Performing Altcoins
This analysis explores the performance of the top cryptocurrencies, focusing on the percentage gains achieved from the start to the close of 2024. The calculations used to determine these gains use the average exchange prices as of December 24th, compared to average prices on January 1st. It is crucial to note that market fluctuations occurring within this period might affect the overall profitability for intraday and swing traders. Furthermore, many currencies could post higher percentage yields if the end date was earlier during the time of their market peaks.
### 1. Fartcoin’s Meteoric Rise
Fartcoin, a meme-based cryptocurrency, emerged with astonishing speed, starting in mid-October. The coin experienced a surge following a major political event in November, with a 300% leap across a 13 day period. This trend is part of a larger phenomenon of meme coins gaining unexpected prominence as high-risk/high-reward alternatives within the crypto sector. Fueled by the Solana network’s low transaction fees and high liquidity, along with its inherent meme appeal, Fartcoin’s value increased by a massive 1,847,357% by the end of the year. This represents the highest gain in the cryptocurrency sector in 2024.
### 2. Mantra’s Compliance-Driven Success
Mantra, a Layer-1 blockchain token, focused on secure Real-World Asset (RWA) tokenization. Several strategic partnerships and regulatory compliance milestones propelled the currency higher during the year. The platform’s success in securing licenses for operations in both the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong significantly boosted its value through the year by 8,776% by the end of the year, underscoring the appeal of platforms that blend digital asset accessibility with regulatory adherence.
### 3. Virtuals Protocol and AI Integration
Virtuals Protocol offered a unique value proposition through its Layer-2 decentralized network for the creation of AI agents. The value of Virtual’s token (VIRTUAL) increased by 6,068%, indicating a strong market interest in blockchain-based solutions that focus on AI integration. Its ability to facilitate the deployment of AI agents across multiple platforms attracted considerable investor interest.
### 4. Ondo’s RWA Tokenization
Ondo, another RWA token, demonstrated the growing acceptance of assets representing tangible items in the crypto space. With multiple instances of the currencies hitting new all-time high exchange rates during the year, the coin saw solid growth of 1,758% for the year as of December 24th. The robust market response to RWA tokenization within digital asset systems highlights the appeal of bridging traditional assets and decentralized finance.
### 5. Aerodome and Decentralized Exchange Innovation
Aerodrome, operating as an automated market maker (AMM) on the Coinbase Layer-2 platform contributed to a strong utility driven return of 1,672%. The token’s value grew significantly, indicating the market’s demand for strong decentralized solutions and for innovative platforms within the DeFi space.
### 6. Pepe’s Meme Relevance
Pepe, the meme coin, remains relevant within the crypto space demonstrating the speculative appeal of meme-based virtual currencies. The token gained 1,249% throughout the measured period from the beginning of the year until Christmas eve, illustrating the potency of meme coins in creating dynamic market movements.
## Top 100 Market Cap Cryptocurrencies Ranked by 2024 ROI
The following table lists the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and their respective ROI percentages from January 1st to December 24th, 2024:
| COIN | ROI %age (Dec 24 Price/Jan 1 Price) |
|---|---|
| Fartcoin: | +1,847,357% |
| MANTRA: | +8,776% |
| Virtuals Protocol: | +6,068% |
| Ondo: | +1,758% |
| Aerodome Finance: | +1,672% |
| Pepe: | +1,249% |
| Pudgy Penguins: | +951% |
| dogwifhat: | +920% |
| Hyperliquid: | +781% |
| Bitget Token: | +726% |
| AIOZ Network: | +599% |
| Sui: | +441% |
| JasmyCoin: | +425% |
| FLOKI: | +377% |
| Ethereum Name Service: | +277% |
| Brett (Based): | +267% |
| XRP: | +265% |
| Hedera: | +260% |
| Dogecoin: | +258% |
| Aave: | +222% |
| Stellar: | +200% |
| Raydium: | +173% |
| GateToken: | +161% |
| Toncoin: | +145% |
| TRON: | +141% |
| UNUS SED LEO: | +139% |
| Bitcoin: | +121% |
| Zcash: | +118% |
| Shiba Inu: | +114% |
| BNB: | +120% |
| Core: | +106% |
| Uniswap: | +90% |
| Mantle: | +89% |
| Artificial Superintelligence Alliance: | +86% |
| Bittensor: | +81% |
| Solana: | +77% |
| Bonk: | +76% |
| Bitcoin Cash: | +75% |
| Fantom: | +75% |
| XDC Network: | +70% |
| Algorand: | +65% |
| Theta Network: | +65% |
| Arweave: | +65% |
| Render: | +63% |
| Chainlink: | +62% |
| Curve DAO Token: | +61% |
| Cronos: | +61% |
| Flare: | +59% |
| Ethena: | +58% |
| Cardano: | +47% |
| ETH: | +46% |
| NEAR Protocol: | +44% |
| VeChain: | +43% |
| Litecoin: | +43% |
| Beam: | +42% |
| Tezos: | +36% |
| Ethereum Classic: | +23% |
| Movement: | +22% |
| Jupiter: | +21% |
| IOTA: | +17% |
| Sei: | +17% |
| Maker: | +16% |
| Stacks: | +14% |
| The Graph: | +14% |
| Bitcoin SV: | +11% |
| Monero: | +10% |
| Pyth Network: | +8% |
| Gala: | +8% |
| Kaspa: | +8% |
| Neo: | +5% |
| KuCoin Token: | +4% |
| Helium: | +2% |
| The Sandbox: | +1% |
| EOS: | -2% |
| Avalanche: | -3% |
| BitTorrent: | -5% |
| Decentraland: | -5% |
| Kaia: | -6% |
| Filecoin: | -7% |
| THORChain: | -9% |
| FTX Token: | -10% |
| Polkadot: | -13.5% |
| Quant: | -14% |
| OKB: | -14% |
| Internet Computer: | -14% |
| Flow: | -21% |
| Lido DAO: | -24% |
| Axie Infinity: | -33% |
| Immutable: | -39% |
| Worldcoin: | -39% |
| Cosmos: | -42% |
| Optimism: | -43% |
| Injective: | -47% |
| dYdX (Native): | -48% |
| MultiversX: | -49% |
| POL MATIC: | -50% |
| Arbitrum: | -54% |
| Celestia: | -62% |
| Starknet: | -81% |
| Aptos: | -92% |
## Conclusion
The cryptocurrency market in 2024 demonstrated both exceptional growth and significant losses, emphasizing the high-risk, high-reward nature of digital assets. Several altcoins, particularly meme coins and RWA-focused tokens, outperformed Bitcoin. The dominance of meme coins highlights the influence of community and virality within the market, whereas the success of RWA tokenization indicates a shift towards integrating traditional assets with DeFi technologies. This divergence reinforces the need for investors to approach the cryptocurrency landscape with a comprehensive understanding of token mechanics, market trends, and associated risks. Despite the high rates of return amongst a few, many currencies saw substantial losses which reinforces the argument for research and risk assessment before investments.
## FAQs
Q: What exactly are altcoins?
A: Altcoins are cryptocurrencies other than Bitcoin. They are alternative digital currencies, often designed with specific features or functions that differ from Bitcoin.
Q: What does “alt season” mean?
A: “Alt season” refers to periods when altcoins experience significant upward price movement, often following a rally in Bitcoin’s price. It’s a time when traders anticipate potentially higher percentage gains in the alternative digital asset market.
Q: What is RWA tokenization?
A: RWA tokenization refers to the process of representing real-world assets, such as real estate or commodities, as digital tokens on a blockchain. This allows for easier fractional ownership, transfer, and liquidity of these assets.
Q: What is a meme coin?
A: A meme coin is a cryptocurrency that originates from an internet meme or joke. These coins often rely on community engagement and virality for popularity and market value.
Q: How were the ROI percentages calculated in this analysis?
A: The ROI (Return on Investment) percentages were calculated by dividing the average cryptocurrency exchange price on December 24th by the average price on January 1st. This measures the total price change over the course of the year.
## References
CoinMarketCap