Cryptocurrency prices have rebounded somewhat in 2024, leaving some investors with notable gains. But crypto is a notoriously risky investment and prices are known to fluctuate quite a bit. Keeping an eye out for the top performers every now and then can give you important context on how the market is performing.
Here are the top eight best-performing cryptocurrencies year-to-date.
Data as of Oct. 1, 2024.
Top-performing cryptocurrencies in 2024
| Cryptocurrency | Performance YTD |
|---|---|
| Toncoin | 136.72% |
| BNB | 78.65% |
| Shiba Inu | 61.94% |
| Bitcoin | 47.02% |
| Solana | 45.55% |
| TRON | 43.76% |
| Bitcoin Cash | 25.15% |
| Dogecoin | 21.59% |
Source: Coinmarketcap.com.
Note: The top eight cryptocurrencies featured here all have a market cap above $6 billion.
1. Toncoin (TON)
Toncoin was developed by Telegram, a company that offers an encrypted messaging platform, in 2018. Telegram eventually abandoned the project and it was taken over by the TON Foundation.
- Price: $5.38
- Market cap: $13.61 billion
2. BNB (BNB)
BNB is the cryptocurrency issued by Binance, which is one of the largest crypto exchanges. BNB was originally created as a token to pay for discounted trades, but Binance Coin can now be used for payments, as well as purchasing various goods and services.
- Price: $544.26
- Market cap: $79.46 billion
3. Shiba Inu (SHIB)
Shiba Inu is an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency and popular memecoin, created in 2020 by a founder called Ryoshi. Shiba Inu, despite its fluffy mascot and meme notoriety, has some serious money behind it and sits in the top 15 cryptocurrencies ranked by market cap.
- Price: $0.00001664
- Market cap: $9.81 billion
4. Bitcoin (BTC)
As the granddaddy of them all, Bitcoin is often the token people reference when they talk about crypto. Bitcoin has a mysterious creator — allegedly Satoshi Nakamoto — who introduced the currency in 2009.
- Price: $61,395.45
- Market cap: $1.21 trillion
5. Solana (SOL)
Solana is a newer cryptocurrency that was created in 2019 by Anatoly Yakovenko. The platform is known for its ability to power smart contracts, decentralized finance apps, NFTs and more.
- Price: $146.56
- Market cap: $68.66 billion
6. TRON (TRX)
TRON, established in 2017, is a decentralized blockchain for creating applications. Its native token is TRX. The Tron Foundation acquired well-known peer-to-peer network BitTorrent in 2018.
- Price: $0.1544
- Market cap: $13.37 billion
7. Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Bitcoin Cash was created to restore the decentralized nature of Bitcoin. The crypto formed after the Bitcoin blockchain forked in 2017, which is when the original blockchain diverges into two separate paths. The coin was created to handle more transactions at once, which reduces fees and speeds up how fast a transaction takes place.
- Price: $318.15
- Market cap: $6.29 billion
8. Dogecoin (DOGE)
Dogecoin takes its name from a Shiba Inu meme and was created by software engineers Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus in 2013 to basically poke fun at the quick rise in Bitcoin prices. Dogecoin has an unlimited number of coins and can be used for payments or sending money.
- Price: $0.1055
- Market cap: $15.43 billion
Should you invest in cryptocurrency?
Crypto has seen some gains in 2024. Bitcoin specifically has been a top performer, having recently been boosted by the Federal Reserve’s interest rate cut. But the future prices of crypto are uncertain and have fluctuated given recent geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, which have dampened investors’ appetite for high-risk assets like crypto.
The important thing to remember is that crypto is so volatile because the tokens aren’t backed by any underlying asset, meaning that the price of crypto depends solely on what buyers are willing to pay for it. To that end, any investments you make in the crypto space (especially during times of market uncertainty) should be part of a broader investment strategy — not your only one — in order to offset any money you could lose. Take time to consider your individual risk tolerance and time horizon for meeting other financial goals like retirement.
Bottom line
When investing in any type of asset, it helps to look at the top performers to get a sense of what’s going on in the market. When it comes to crypto, it’s especially important because the prices fluctuate so much and new coins are issued at a fast pace. Before investing in crypto, consider your own risk tolerance and only invest what you’re willing to lose.