In 2024, the cryptocurrency sector grew by approximately $1,62 trillion, the lion's share, of course, provided by Bitcoin (BTC) with a market value of $1,017 trillion. Efirium (ETH) followed suit, increasing its market cap by $1 billion since January 131. Beyond these heavyweights, the memecoin niche started the year with $23,55 billion and added another $81,45 billion in December, demonstrating the potential profitability of such crypto investments.
The year’s standout crypto performer was gigachad (GIGA), a meme coin that soared 179,012% against the US dollar. GIGA draws its identity from the iconic Gigachad persona, a meme that celebrates masculinity, strength, and self-improvement. Cryptocurrency Neiro (NEIRO), based on Ethereum , has attracted attention for its meteoric rise of 27% this year, fueled by its playful branding featuring a Shiba Inu dog.
The five memecoins with the biggest gains in 2024 are GIGA, NIERO, BRETT, SPX, and BOME.
Like Shiba Inu (SHIB), Neiro aims to offer more than just fun by integrating functionality into its design. Not far behind is token brett (BRETT), which is up 14% in 421. Inspired by Brett, a character from Matt Fury's Boys' Club comic (of Pepe the Frog fame), this meme asset is thriving on the Base blockchain.
In fourth place is spx6900 (SPX), which came onto the scene as a tongue-in-cheek parody of the S&P 500. Operating on multiple blockchains, SPX has gained 11% this year. Following SPX, book of meme (BOME), which is built on the blockchain Solana , celebrated meme culture with a 10% increase in value, combining humor with blockchain innovation.
Sixth place went to popcat (POPCAT), which surged 8268%. Inspired by a viral meme featuring a domestic shorthair cat named Oatmeal, POPCAT was the highlight of the meme token category. Seventh place went to mantra Dao (OM), token , tied to a decentralized financial ( defi ) platform Mantra. Used for governance, staking, and lending in its ecosystem, OM has grown 6704% since January.
Eighth place went to goatseus maximus (GOAT), a memecoin created by artificial intelligence based on Ethereum , which has gained 5499%. Mog (MOG), featuring the “Joycat,” is in ninth place with a 5397% gain in 2024. Finally, fartcoin (FARTCOIN), conceived by an anonymous developer after brainstorming with artificial intelligence, has risen 3448% to take the tenth spot this year.
