As 2024 winds down, the crypto economy has flourished, growing by an impressive $1.62 trillion in value over the year. Interestingly, nine of the top ten gainers for the year turned out to be meme tokens, with only one utility token breaking into the elite group.
Meme Coins Take the Crown
The crypto sector expanded by approximately $1.62 trillion in 2024, with bitcoin (BTC) taking the lion’s share by adding $1.017 trillion to its market valuation. Ethereum (ETH) followed suit, increasing its market cap by $131 billion since Jan. 1. Beyond these heavyweights, the meme coin niche began the year at $23.55 billion and added $81.45 billion more, demonstrating the potential profitability of humor-driven crypto investments.
The year’s standout crypto performer was gigachad (GIGA), a meme coin that soared 179,012% against the U.S. dollar. GIGA draws its identity from the iconic Gigachad persona—a meme celebrating peak masculinity, strength, and self-betterment. Meanwhile, the Ethereum-based neiro (NEIRO) garnered attention with its meteoric rise of 27,036% this year, fueled by its playful dog-themed branding reminiscent of dogecoin.
The top performing five crypto assets with the most gains in 2024— GIGA, NIERO, BRETT, SPX, and BOME.
Much like shiba inu (SHIB), Neiro aspires to offer more than laughs by integrating utility into its design. Not far behind, brett token (BRETT) climbed 14,421% in 2024. Inspired by Brett, a character from Matt Furie’s “Boys’ Club” comic (famous for Pepe the frog), this meme coin thrives on the Base blockchain.
In fourth place, spx6900 (SPX) took the stage as a tongue-in-cheek parody of the S&P 500. Operating across multiple blockchains, SPX climbed 11,594% this year. Following SPX, book of meme (BOME), built on the Solana blockchain, celebrated meme culture with a 10,446% increase in value, marrying humor with blockchain innovation.
The sixth spot went to popcat (POPCAT), which rose 8,268%. Inspired by a viral meme featuring a domestic short-haired cat named Oatmeal, POPCAT added a twist to the meme coin category. Seventh place belonged to mantra dao (OM), a utility token tied to the decentralized finance (defi) platform Mantra. Used for governance, staking, and lending within its ecosystem, OM surged 6,704% since January.
The eighth slot was claimed by goatseus maximus (GOAT), an Ethereum-based AI-crafted meme coin, which grew by 5,499%. Mog coin (MOG), boasting its “Joycat” imagery, landed ninth with a 5,397% rise in 2024. Lastly, fartcoin (FARTCOIN)—conceived by an anonymous developer after an AI brainstormed ideal meme coin ideas—climbed 3,448% to secure the tenth position this year.
The ascent of meme tokens in 2024 highlights a notable change in investor mood, favoring fun and cultural significance over the traditional usefulness of crypto assets. This trend points to an increasing embrace of cryptocurrencies as a medium for digital art and witty social critique, where value springs from community interaction and meme popularity, not just from economic basics.
Looking ahead, many meme coin projects seem fixated on testing their limits, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible—or profitable—with a hefty dose of humor. Meme factory platforms like pump.fun are cranking out tokens at breakneck speed, often tailored for the fleeting thrill of a quick rise and fall.
This year, the meme coin world has been all about sheer velocity, creating tokens faster than you can say “to the moon,” with their primary goal often to ignite short bursts of excitement. These projects thrive on catchy names, celebrity shoutouts, and clever viral marketing, pulling users into a whirlwind of hype and sometimes, disappearing just as quickly.