The numbers are in for the best performing cryptocurrencies of this bullish year we’re in, and it is NOT Bitcoin or Ethereum. It’s the meme coins.

2024, the year of meme coins

WIF, PEPE, FET, and FLOKI have performed insanely better than every single crypto out there, per a report from Forbes. WIF has soared by an incredible 1,306%, reaching a market cap of $2.1 billion. PEPE isn’t far behind, surging 815% to a market cap of $5 billion.

Following WIF and PEPE, FET increased by 545% to a market cap of $3.6 billion, and Floki, which rose 392% to $1.6 billion. JASMY also saw huge gains, up 343% to $1.4 billion, while AR climbed 188% to $1.8 billion. 

Core and Toncoin had increases of 152% and 135%, reaching market caps of $1.2 billion and $18.8 billion respectively. BGB and Bonk also performed well, up 100% and 90%, with market caps of $1.6 billion and $1.5 billion.

Bitcoin is still king

Still though. This has been a truly remarkable year for Bitcoin. It just reached its highest dominance since 2021. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin now accounts for over 55% of the global crypto market’s total value, up from 40% at the end of 2022. 

The global market value of all cryptocurrencies increased by $661 billion in the first half of the year, with Bitcoin alone making up for $409 billion of that. BTC’s 48% increase this year has been outstanding, thanks to institutional investors showing renewed interest. 

However, the growth was overshadowed by meme coins. These tokens, known for their lack of real value and insane price swings driven by social media hype, have shown extraordinary returns.

Ethereum has also outperformed Bitcoin YTD, seeing a 51% increase. Ether might soon be approved for spot ETFs, which could boost its value to all-time highs.

Binance Coin (BNB) increased by 81%. Pretty impressive considering the FUD Binance has dealt with this year that ended with founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao behind bars in California.

Bitcoin’s current performance is holding up quite nicely regardless. After a failed assassination on US presidential candidate Donald Trump, BTC quickly reclaimed its critical level of $60,000. It saw over $1.3 billion in inflows last week and its spot ETFs saw their largest inflows in five weeks. 

At press time, Bitcoin was worth $63,382 with a 6% twenty-four hour increase. Ether was worth $3,501 with a 7% increase.