Analysis of the 2024 Crypto Assets Theme Performance: AI and Meme coins Rise Big, Layer 2 Lags Behind

The cryptocurrency market in 2024 is showing a diversified development trend, with significant differences in the performance of various thematic sectors. This study analyzes the major narrative themes of the cryptocurrency market from January 1 to December 29, 2024, based on market data. By tracking the performance of the top ten tokens in each theme, the average return relative to the beginning of the year (or the first trading day) is calculated. The study selects representative tokens with high market capitalization at the end of the period, excluding specific public chain ecosystems and sectors with high overlap with other themes. The results indicate significant differences in annual returns across different narrative themes, with a range from -20.7% to +2,939.8%.

AI and Meme coins lead market growth

In 2024, AI and Meme coins have become the two most prominent sectors in the Crypto Assets market. The AI sector ranks first with an astonishing average rise of 2,939.8% year-to-date (YTD), followed closely by the Meme coins sector, which has also reached a year-to-date return of 2,185.1%. The returns of these two sectors far exceed those of other popular narrative themes by more than two times.

The Meme coin sector began to significantly lead in March, with a monthly return skyrocketing from 96.6% to 1,713.1%. Despite the intense volatility, Meme coins maintained the highest returns for most of 2024. However, after hitting a historical high return of 3,211.4% on December 9, the sector experienced a correction as market interest waned.

In contrast, the AI sector experienced a strong rebound at the end of the year, with returns in December almost doubling from 1,598.1% to 2,939.8%. This was mainly due to the explosive growth of a certain AI agency platform, which also became the token with the largest rise in the crypto assets market this year. Ultimately, the AI sector surpassed Meme coins by the end of December, becoming the annual return champion.

Real world assets ( RWA ) sector ranks third with an annual average return of 819.5%. The sector performed steadily at the beginning of the year, reaching a yield of 365.3% by April 12, and then consolidated sideways over the next six months. In November, driven by the price increase of a certain coin, the RWA sector resumed its upward trend.

Layer 1, DePIN and DeFi sectors performed flat

Layer 1, decentralized physical infrastructure ( DePIN ) and decentralized finance ( DeFi ) sectors performed similarly in 2024, recording returns of 142.5%, 135.4%, and 101.4%, respectively. This means Layer 1 and DePIN slightly outperformed Bitcoin's 125.5% rise during the same period, while the DeFi sector's performance was even below that of Bitcoin.

In other words, conservative investors can achieve returns comparable to at least three main narrative themes by holding Bitcoin.

The performance of the gaming and Layer 2 sectors is poor

GameFi and Layer 2 have become the worst-performing sectors in 2024, even worse than Ethereum's 49.0% rise. Specifically, the GameFi sector has only risen 14.7% this year, with six of the top ten gaming tokens experiencing declines ranging from 3.1% to 32.9%.

Layer 2 is the only sector this year to record negative returns, down 20.7%. Amid the trend of projects seeking to launch their own Layer 2 solutions, seven of the top ten Layer 2 tokens have seen their prices decline, with drops ranging from 6.3% to 75.3%.

2024 Crypto Assets Narrative Performance Ranking

The performance of the 2024 Crypto Assets narrative, ranked by the average annual price return of its 10 largest tokens:

1. AI: +2,939.8%
2. Meme coin: +2,185.1%
3. RWA: +819.5%
4. Layer 1: +142.5%
5. DePIN: +135.4%
6. DeFi: +101.4%
7. Privacy coin: +69.7%
8. Stablecoin: +25.5%
9. GameFi: +14.7%
10. Layer 2: -20.7%

This year's Crypto Assets market has shown a clear trend of differentiation, and investors need to more carefully assess the potential and risks of each sector.