What’s the worst performing cryptocurrency in 2024?

Bitcoin and Ethereum are up this year, despite the recent pullback in the market. Not so, however, for many altcoins throughout the space. Let’s take a look at some of crypto’s biggest losers of 2024.

In the last 12 months, the total crypto market cap has risen an impressive 95% as the market continued to recover from the disastrous FTX collapse the year prior. The market is now valued at around $2.25 trillion compared to $1.15 in July 2023 although, of course, bearish signals are now apparent as the summer continues.

Bitcoin (BTC) surpassed its all-time high set in Nov. 2021, reaching 69,045 on Mar. 5 before declining to $57,965 at the time of writing.

Similarly, Ethereum (ETH) has displayed a strong trajectory, with a year-to-date (YTD) growth of over 65%, trading at approximately $3,103 as of July 12.

The introduction of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) has played a major role in driving this growth. 

However, over the last month or so, prices have started to decline market-wide, with BTC losing almost 25% in the last 30 days. This selling pressure has spilled over into the altcoin market with some significant declines since the beginning of the year.

Let’s analyze which altcoins have suffered the most significant losses in 2024 and identify the factors contributing to their downturn despite favorable market conditions.

Top 5 losers in crypto (including small-cap coins)

This list draws from any coins in the top 2000 ranked by market cap, with prices measured from the start of 2024.

1. Alva (AA)

This coin, native to the ALVA staking platform, briefly spiked to a price of over $11,000 in December 2023 before getting absolutely annihilated in a spectacular selloff that brought the price down by almost 100%.

2. Giant Mammoth (GMMT)

Giant Mammoth is a project purportedly aimed at enhancing scalability in the blockchain industry. While the project lives on and appears active, its native GMMT token has seen a catastrophic 98.82% decline since the start of this year. Worth over $2.50 in 2023, GMMT is now trading close to zero at $0.009595.

3. SomeSing (SSG)

SSG token has collapsed 98.33% since the start of the year, plummeting from around $0.88 to $0.000349. The project was marketing as an online community for people to upload and share clips of themselves singing and reportedly gained up to 660,000 active users in its heyday.

4. StraitsX Singapore Dollar (XSGD)

A stablecoin is a strange addition to the list, but here we are with XSGD which was designed to remain stable in price to the Singapore dollar. XSGD collapsed 98.20% from January 2024 to the present day with the coin completely depegging before getting abandoned.

5. Brightpool Finance Price (BRI)

This DeFi platform is notable for its bid-to-earn model which was designed to allow users to earn money for placing orders. Its native BRI token has fallen 96.20% this year, although the platform is not giving up just yet and has been initiating buybacks of the token in recent months.

Top 5 losers in crypto (high cap coins)

Of course, there is no shortage of coins that have collapsed 90% or more. What’s equally of interest is taking a look at the more widely known coins that have drawn huge investments worldwide and have nevertheless seen significant losses.

This list draws from the top 50 coins ranked by market cap, again with prices measured from January 1, 2024.

1. Arbitrum (ARB)

Arbitrum is a layer 2 scaling solution for the Ethereum network. In March, a major token unlocking event may have triggered a price correction that remains ongoing to this day. 

Project whales who received vested earnings moved over $50 million in ARB onto exchanges as soon as they were made available, indicating an impending selloff and creating bearish sentiment for ARB holders who started cashing out for fear of being left holding the bag.

ARB is now trading at $0.70, down from a high last year of over $2.20. All told, the token has fallen 57% since the start of 2024.

1. Polygon (MATIC)

Polygon’s MATIC token has had a rough year and indeed, a rough few years. Another L2 scaling solution for Ethereum, the project has seen a massive price fall despite strong on-chain metrics and continued initiatives rolled out by the team.

MATIC is down over 80% from its all-time high and 48.2% since the start of this year. Debate continues over whether MATIC is a sleeping giant or a dead project, as with a $1 billion fund rolled out earlier this year, the project is far from inactive.

However, negative sentiment prevails, with MATIC struggling to recover to anywhere near the all-time high of $2.71 seen in 2021. It is now trading at $0.508 and sitting at the #2 spot on our list of cryptocurrency losers.

2. Internet Computer (ICP)

The Internet Computer project was designed as an enhancement of modern internet infrastructure, aiming to introduce decentralized data servers to the next iteration of the web. The project is active and released verified credentials capabilities just last month.

The price of its native ICP token, however, is far from healthy, falling 46.70% this year and now trading at $7.24. While the market cap is over $3 billion, the project has seen a stunning price collapse from the all-time high of $428 seen upon launching in 2021, marking a 98.28% fall from grace.

3. Injective Protocol (INJ)

Injective Protocol is a smart contracts platform aimed at improving the operations of decentralized finance services. INJ has seen a major price drop this year despite being earmarked as a top gainer in January 2024. 

This was not to be, with INJ token falling 45.69% since January.

4. Cosmos (ATOM)

The final coin on our list of crypto losers today is ATOM, the native token of the Cosmos project aimed at creating an “internet of blockchains,” using interoperability technology to connect multiple blockchain networks together. While the solutions Cosmos is working on are much-needed in the space and Cosmos is indeed one of the major players in that area, its status has not been reflected in recent price action.

ATOM is now worth $5.99, down 44.53% from the start of the year and 58% from the all-time high of $14.22 seen in March 2024.

The road ahead

With major selloffs now taking place across the ecosystem, the bullish sentiment seen earlier in the year has all but dissipated.

It’s important to recognize that the market can be unpredictable. While some altcoins are performing well, others are facing steep declines.

To minimize risks, consider diversifying your investments across different assets. Setting clear investment goals and using strategies like stop-loss orders can also help manage risks effectively.

In the end, while the crypto market offers great potential, it’s wise to proceed carefully. Remember, only invest what you can afford to lose, and always approach investment decisions with diligence.

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