2024 was a great year for crypto investors, traders, and cryptos themselves! Some milestone events like BTC touching $100,000, Ethereum ETFs, and Layer-2 solutions have sparked massive interest in the crypto markets again! 2022 was a debacle for cryptocurrencies; there’s little to no doubt about that. But 2024 proved to be a complete turnaround story.
Now that the year is coming to a close, we have decided why not take a look at the top-performing cryptos of 2024. So, let’s take a look at these top 8 cryptos of 2024 and find out what factors helped them rally.
Who knows, you might find your next big investment opportunity from this list! So, without wasting much time, let’s get started.
1 Bitcoin (BTC)
Hands down, one of the most outstanding performances in the crypto world was from BTC. It touched the 100,000 mark in 2024, something that investors and traders have been waiting for far too long! There were multiple reasons why BTC went berserk this year. Hundreds of financial institutions, hedge funds, and crypto whales have gone bullish on Bitcoin.
These investors saw Bitcoin as a secure hedge against inflation and economic instability across the globe. Result? Bitcoin rallied to $100,000.
Apart from financial factors, they also played their role. 2024 brought in multiple regulatory clarities around Bitcoin. This gave investors confidence in Bitcoin. Similarly, the SEC approved a lot of Bitcoin spot ETFs. So, investors have another option to invest in cryptos without worrying about the safety of their investments. Countries like Australia, Canada, and even regions within the EU adopted favorable crypto regulations.
Another major event for Bitcoin was Bitcoin Halving. At regular intervals, the mining rewards for the Bitcoin miners get cut in half. This was that year. While rewards halved, the scarcity went up, and so did the Bitcoin prices.
2 Ethereum (ETH)
Ethereum is the second most popular crypto after Bitcoin. It has a robust ecosystem for dApps, and with the launch of Ethereum 2.0, the value of ETH has sky-rocketed this year. The number of developers and investors interested in Ethereum is rising continually. This is one of the most important factors that have contributed to the rise of ETH prices.
The introduction of Ethereum ETFs, specifically in Canada and Europe, has also helped ETH prices go up. ETFs are an excellent option for risk-averse investors who do not want to hold the crypto directly but want to leverage its rise. Due to this reason, ETH’s prices rose by almost 60% in a year.
Layer-2 solutions like Optimism and Arbitrum flourished on Ethereum, offering faster transactions and lower fees. Enterprises also began leveraging Ethereum for real-world use cases like supply chain management and identity verification. Ethereum’s role in powering innovations kept it at the forefront of blockchain technology.
3 Dogecoin (DOGE)
This year has been wonderful for Dogecoin. It had a dream run in the year 2024. While a lot of critiques and experts played down Dogecoin as just a joke, it became a worthy asset. In fact, it surprisingly became an asset that had one of the best performances in the crypto world in 2024. One of the most important factors behind this run was obviously Elon Musk. The tech billionaire has continuously endorsed and supported Dogecoin. He integrates Dogecoin as a payment option in Tesla’s ecosystem.
On top of that, the Dogecoin network brought in some technical changes to make transactions fast and slow. Result? A lot of businesses and individuals use Dogecoin today for micropayments. For example, Shopify and AMC Theatres have started accepting Dogecoin as a payment option.
While Dogecoin is quite speculative, it’s running strong. The community is vibrant, and it has backing from industry big-shots like Elon Musk. These factors have helped it soar sky-high. Today, Dogecoin has evolved from just another meme coin to a great investment asset.
4 Shiba Inu (SHIB)
Shiba Inu continued its rapid ascent in 2024, driven by strong community engagement and strategic developments. SHIB gained utility with the launch of Shibarium, its Layer-2 blockchain. This development reduced transaction fees for SHIB-based applications, making it attractive for developers and users alike.
Shiba Inu’s ecosystem expanded with new projects like SHIB-themed metaverse platforms and decentralized exchanges. These additions strengthened its narrative as more than a speculative asset. SHIB also gained attention from institutional investors seeking exposure to high-growth tokens.
While its growth remained largely speculative, the Shiba Inu team focused on long-term goals. Strategic partnerships and community-driven governance initiatives showed the team’s commitment to sustainability. By positioning itself as an ecosystem, Shiba Inu outgrew its memecoin origins.
5 XRP (XRP)
Ripple wants a landmark case against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). So, this was the landmark year for Ripple. The court ruled that Ripple’s toke, CRP, will have non-security status. This decision helped it gain wider adoption.
Moreover, Ripple’s cross-border payment solutions gained traction this year. Especially in regions like Asia and the Middle East, more and more people have started using it as an actual currency. Moreover, the number of financial institutions that have adopted RippleNet for cross-border payments shot up. Result? XRP uses a shot-up, too. There was a lot of positive news around XRP in 2024. And this news gave a booster dose to XRP’s price. In fact, XRP tripled in 2024 alone!
But one more factor that fueled XRP’s rapid growth is something that got overlooked. It’s the CBDS or Central Bank Digital Currencies. A lot of central banks are looking to develop their own CBDCs. And XRP is helping them with that.
Such clarity and wider legal acceptance made it an eye candy for investors and traders alike.
6 Cardano (ADA)
Cardano has always been about innovation and new features. While it did not perform well in the past couple of years, 2024 was different. The network implemented Hydra, a layer 2 solution. This addition supercharged the entire network’s transaction speed. Moreover, the cost of transactions dropped too., Result? ADA quickly became more competitive against Ethereum and other similar platforms.
On top of that, the network worked on the developer’s activity. IOG, its parent organization, launched multiple initiatives to build projects on its own blockchain. This prompted a lot of developers to develop a wide range of apps and games on their platforms. Such wider adoption resulted in ADA soaring.
Moreover, Cardano focused a lot on peer-reviewed research and highly transparent governance. Such steps strengthen the investor’s sentiment. These factors came together and helped ADA achieve new highs. As of now, the fundamentals of ADA are strong, and Cardano has envisioned a phenomenal future for itself.
7 Solana (SOL)
Solana has always been a reliable and high-performance blockchain. This year, it also attracted numerous projects across DeFi, NFTs, and gaming. As it can process thousands of transactions with very cheap transaction costs, more and more developers prefer it over another blockchain.
Such expanded adaptabilities have popularized the Solana ecosystem amongst developers and investors alike. A lot of big-shot projects like Magic Eden and Serum have increased usability. This has triggered a bull run in SOL, Solana’s native crypto. Solana also supports multiple user-friendly tools, so a lot of non-tech folks are using Solana for their routine tasks, too.
Solana experienced network outages a couple of times throughout the year. But overall, the performance has been phenomenal and outstanding. This has made SOL a worthy contender in the crypto space.
8 Memecoins and Emerging Tokens
Memecoins like Pepe Coin and new entrants dominated headlines in 2024. These tokens leveraged internet culture and community engagement to achieve rapid gains. Despite lacking intrinsic value, their speculative appeal attracted a wave of retail investors.
Emerging tokens also gained attention for their unique use cases. For example, gaming tokens linked to metaverse platforms showed significant growth. These assets highlighted the evolving diversity within the cryptocurrency market, reflecting the broader trend of niche innovations.
Wrapping Up
The cryptocurrency market in 2024 showcased a mix of resilience, innovation, and unpredictability. The established currencies like BTC and ETH showed excellent performance, while SOL and XRP had a massive bull run.
As we are entering 2025, investors will be buying these assets and some more for growth. It would be interesting to note what assets will have a good year. Are you ready for the next year? We are! If you are looking for some more information on crypto, make sure to follow us on LinkedIn. Twitter and YouTube, too. We regularly bring in the latest crypto updates on these platforms for our readers.
Till then, stay sharp, invest wisely, and grow with Visiion.io! Happy investing.
