A new report explored the most profitable crypto narratives of the first quarter of 2024, with meme coins emerging as the undisputed champions.

What Happened: The study by CoinGecko, published on April 3, delved into the performance of various crypto narratives by analyzing the top 10 tokens within each category.

The report reveals a story of meme coin dominance.

On average, the top 10 meme coins by market capitalization at the end of the first quarter witnessed a staggering 1312.6% price increase over the three-month period.

This explosive growth dwarfs the returns of all other narratives.

Real-World Asset (RWA) tokens, the second-best performing category, paled in comparison with a 285.6% average return.

The meme coin surge was fueled in part by the launch of several new tokens in March.

BRETT, Book of Meme BOME/USD, and cat in a dogs world MEW/USD all debuted during this period and quickly captured investor attention.

BRETT, the most successful newcomer, skyrocketed a phenomenal 7727.6% from its launch price.

Another new entrant, dogwifhat WIF/USD, wasn’t far behind, experiencing a 2721.2% increase in value after going viral and sparking the current meme coin craze.

AI And Established Narratives See Solid Growth

While meme coins dominated the headlines, other narratives also delivered positive returns.

AI tokens, for example, saw an average increase of 222.0%, with all large-cap tokens within this category experiencing gains.

DeFi and DePIN narratives delivered more modest but still significant returns of 98.9% and 81.0%, respectively.

Also Read: Bitcoin ETFs Traded $111B In March: 2 New ETFs Could Mean The Action Gets Even Wilder

Notably, the DeFi narrative received a late-quarter boost thanks to the renewed interest surrounding the Uniswap fee switch proposal.

Layer 1, Gaming, Layer 2 Lag Behind

Despite the popularity of meme coin chain Solana SOL/USD, Layer 1 (L1) narratives only managed an average return of 70.0%.

Similarly, the GameFi and Layer 2 (L2) narratives lagged behind with 64.4% and 39.5% returns, respectively. Interestingly, established L2 solutions like Arbitrum ARB/USD, Polygon MATIC/USD, and Optimism OP/USD underperformed compared to newer players like Stacks STX/USD and Mantle MNT/USD. Stacks saw a 142.5% increase, while Mantle gained 95.8%, showcasing the potential of emerging players in the L2 space.

Investor Takeaway: Stay Informed In A Dynamic Market

The CoinGecko report underscored the ever-evolving nature of the cryptocurrency market.

Trends can shift quickly, with certain narratives experiencing explosive growth while others struggle to keep pace.

As the crypto space continues to mature, investors are advised to stay informed about emerging trends and conduct thorough research before making investment decisions.

Benzinga’s upcoming Future of Digital Assets conference, scheduled for Nov. 19, offers a valuable platform to gain insights from industry leaders and experts.

This conference will provide a comprehensive overview of the latest trends in various crypto narratives, equipping investors with the knowledge to navigate the ever-changing market.

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Image created using artificial intelligence with Midjourney.