The cryptocurrency industry has seen a surge in profits in the first half of 2024, with memecoins and emerging sectors at the forefront.
According to BitEye, CoinGecko, and Wu Blockchain, memecoins have recorded a remarkable 1,834% returns since the beginning of the year, making them the most profitable sector. Real-world asset tokenization came in second, providing investors with a return of 214%. Artificial intelligence blockchain projects followed with a healthy 72% return, while decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) saw returns of 59%.
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) have continued to perform well, with ETH showing a year-to-date gain of 50% and Bitcoin returning around 45%. Additionally, layer-1 platforms returned an average of 43%, while gaming and decentralized finance sectors lagged behind but still managed to record modest returns at 19% and 3%, respectively. However, the layer-2 sector experienced a notable decline, with total losses averaging roughly 41%.
The rise of memecoins can be attributed to the Solana network, with 541,000 new token projects minted on the blockchain in May alone. Celebrities and influencers like Andrew Tate, rapper Lil Pump, and Iggy Azalea have launched their memecoins on the network, leading to accusations of insider trading and pump-and-dump schemes.
Solana’s architecture and user-friendly features have earned it the title of the “MacOS of blockchain” by Pantera Capital.
Real-world asset tokenization has become a favorite topic of institutional investors and banks, with the potential to encompass $874 trillion in wealth as investment funds, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and real estate migrate onchain. Projects like Chainlink (LINK) are making strides in bringing the world’s assets to the blockchain through new partnerships that prioritize the digitization of wealth.
Overall, the cryptocurrency industry has seen significant profits in the first half of 2024, with memecoins and real-world asset tokenization leading the way in returns.