The Most Profitable Crypto Sectors

In the initial three months of 2024, meme coins emerged as the standout performers, vastly outperforming all other assets with an average yield of 1312.6%!

The BRETT token, introduced on the Base network at March's end, skyrocketed by 7727.6% in mere days.

The viral meme token Dogwifhat (WIF) claimed the second spot with a 2721.2% increase. The iconic dog with a hat gained popularity from a marketing stunt featuring its image on Las Vegas's biggest screen.

CoinGecko's analysts attribute the fervor for these assets to three main factors:

1. Social Media. News of meme tokens virally spreads across TikTok, X, and Reddit, swiftly drawing in a new investor crowd.
2. Accessibility. The low entry cost of meme coins appeals to novice investors.
3. FOMO. The potential for quick, substantial profits tempts people to invest in meme coins without proper project evaluation or analysis.

Despite the inherent high risk of manipulation and lack of fundamental value, the demand for these assets persists. It appears that Vitalik Buterin's advice to invest in real solutions rather than meme coins may only resonate during the next crypto winter.

The RWA (Real World Assets) segment also exhibits enduring investor interest. 

L1 blockchain MANTRA spearheads this area, providing a compliant infrastructure for RWA transactions. Despite its widespread use among developers and financial institutions, investments in MANTRA's native token, OM, yielded a return of +1074.4%.

TOKEN, a native asset of the TokenFi platform created by Floki's founders, brought investors an average profit of 420%.

XDC Network (XDC), an EVM-compatible, enterprise-grade, open-source blockchain protocol, was the only RWA project to post negative returns, with investors facing a 15% loss.

The sector's average quarterly return stands at 286%.

AI Tokens Hold Steady, DeFi and DePIN Markets Rally

The protracted bear market's grip loosens as DeFi and DePIN projects see a resurgence in interest. Following a challenging 2023, the DeFi sector made a robust recovery in the first quarter, bouncing back by 98.9%, while DePIN projects averaged an 81.0% yield.

Tokens from Ribbon Finance (+430.8%), Jupiter (+125.7%), Maker (+121.2%), and The Graph (+111.0%) delivered standout performances to investors' delight.

Leading the charge in the DePIN segment's growth were Arweave (AR) (+292.5%) and Theta Network (THETA) (+124.5%).

However, market stalwart Helium (HNT) bucked the positive trend, marking itself as the lone DePIN token to post a negative return of -10.5%.

In the CoinGecko rankings, AI cryptocurrencies clinched third place with a +220% increase. AIOZ Network's AIOZ token (+480.2%) and Fetch.ai's FET (+378.3%) emerged as frontrunners.

The growth in L1 blockchains was comparatively modest, with a 70% return appearing less remarkable amid broader market recoveries. Solana (SOL, +91.9%) and Toncoin (TON, +131.2%) were the highlights, although it's noted that Solana's achievements were significantly fueled by the meme coin mania.

The conventional frontrunners, Bitcoin and Ethereum, showcased gains of +65.1% and +53.9%, respectively. 

The least impressive performances were observed in L2 projects:

• Arbitrum (ARB, +5.6%);
• Polygon (MATIC, +1.2%);
• Optimism (OP, -1.2%)

However, the segment's average profitability was buoyed by Stacks (STX, +142.5%) and Mantle (MNT, +95.8%).

Analysts attribute the meme coin surge to the absence of groundbreaking innovations in L2 projects and scalability challenges within L1 blockchains.