In the first quarter of 2024, the cryptocurrency market demonstrated a vibrant performance across various storylines, with meme coins, real-world assets, and AI tokens emerging as the most profitable sectors.
Narratives represent distinct sectors within the crypto industry, each utilizing a unique coin, showcasing diverse operational possibilities for cryptocurrencies.
According to data sourced from CoinGecko, meme coins recorded an impressive average return of 1,312% across the top tokens listed on the platform.
This remarkable performance was exemplified by the success of newcomers like Brett (BRETT), BOOK OF MEME (BOME), and cat in a dogs world (MEW), all launched around March 2024. Brett stood out with an extraordinary 7,727% return by the quarter’s end compared to its initial price. Additionally, dogwifhat (WIF) gained significant traction, achieving a 2,721% increase after going viral, contributing to the ongoing hype surrounding meme coins.
The Real World Asset (RWA) narrative, focusing on tokens linked to physical assets or real-world utilities, ranked second with a 285% return. Early in February, RWA briefly held the top position before being surpassed by meme coins and AI narratives, only to reclaim its position above AI by late March. Leading RWA tokens such as MANTRA (OM) and TokenFi (TOKEN) recorded gains of 1,074% and 419%, respectively.
In the AI narrative, there was notable performance, with an average return of 222%. This sector garnered significant attention, with major AI tokens all posting gains. AIOZ Network (AIOZ) and Fetch.ai (FET) led the pack with gains of 480% and 378%, respectively.
Decentralized finance (defi) and Decentralized Physical Infrastructure Networks (DePIN) narratives experienced moderate gains. Defi witnessed a surge late in the quarter, ending with returns of 98.9%, largely influenced by the Uniswap (UNI) fee switch proposal. Ribbon Finance (RBN) emerged as the most profitable defi token, recording a 430% gain after transitioning to Aevo. DePIN, despite initial losses, closed the quarter with 81% returns, driven by Arweave (AR), Livepeer (LPT), and Theta Network (THETA).
However, the Layer 1 (L1), GameFi, and Layer 2 (L2) narratives lagged in profitability. L1 narratives recorded returns of 70%, with Solana (SOL) gaining popularity but being overshadowed by Toncoin (TON) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH). GameFi and L2 narratives posted returns of 64.4% and 39.5%, respectively, with established Ethereum L2s like Arbitrum (ARB), Polygon (MATIC), and Optimism (OP) underperforming.
