10 Top Cryptos By Year-To-Date Performance In October 2024 (2025)

This article examines the top 10 cryptocurrencies by Year-to-Date performance as of October, 2024. I’ll analyze their key characteristics, success factors and market positions using a scoring system that considers YTD growth, market capitalization and supply metrics. The list showcases diverse projects, from established cryptocurrencies to emerging blockchain technologies and meme coins.

This analysis provides insights into the current state of the crypto market, highlighting trends in decentralized finance, artificial intelligence integration and meme-driven investments. I’ll also explore the potential future developments and challenges facing the cryptocurrency sector in 2025.

Understanding The Volatile Nature Of Cryptocurrencies

Crypto prices are highly susceptible to market trends, often reacting sharply to regulatory news, technological developments, and macroeconomic shifts. In 2024, key factors influencing performance include:

• Regulatory developments in major economies
• Advancements in blockchain technology
• Increased institutional adoption
• Global economic uncertainties

While some cryptocurrencies have delivered impressive returns, bitcoin's volatility has been decreasing. This trend suggests a maturing market, potentially attracting more conservative investors. However, the sector remains high-risk overall. Lack of regulation, potential market manipulation and the speculative nature of many digital assets underscore the need for careful research and risk management when investing in this space.

Criteria For Selecting The Top Crypto By YTD Performance

The ranking of top cryptocurrencies by Year-to-Date performance for October, 2024 uses a scoring system that looks at several factors. The main factor is how much the cryptocurrency's value has changed since January 1, 2024, which makes up 70% of the total score. This focus on YTD performance helps identify cryptocurrencies that have grown the most this year.

The scoring also considers the total value of all coins in circulation (market cap), which accounts for 15% of the score. This helps include larger, more established cryptocurrencies. The last 15% of the score looks at how many coins are available compared to the total supply, with a lower ratio contributing positively to the score. This helps account for how the cryptocurrency manages its coin distribution and potential dilution risks.

The analysis covers the top 50 cryptocurrencies by market cap from CoinMarketCap (as of October 2, 2024), with complete data since January 1, 2024, . The scoring system normalizes all these factors to ensure fair comparison across different cryptocurrencies. This method aims to highlight cryptocurrencies that have shown strong growth this year while also maintaining a solid market position and good management of their coin supply.

10 Top Cryptos By Year-To-Date Performance In October 2024

Here are the top 10 cryptocurrencies by YTD performance as of October 2024, ranked using our scoring system. This list combines price growth, market cap, and supply metrics to highlight the year's best-performing digital assets.

Pepe (PEPE)

Pepe Overview

• Market Cap: $4.09B
• Circulating Supply: 420.69T
• Total Supply: 420.69T
• YTD Performance: 649.75%

Pepe, a meme coin inspired by the Pepe the Frog character, has seen explosive growth in 2024. Launched in April 2023, it quickly gained traction in the crypto community. Unlike many cryptocurrencies, pepe has no max supply cap, with its total and circulating supply both at 420.69 trillion tokens.

Why Pepe Is A Top Choice

Pepe's astounding 649.75% YTD growth makes it the top performer in our list. This surge can be attributed to its strong community engagement and the broader trend of meme coins gaining mainstream attention. Its lack of a supply cap and reliance on social momentum make it a high-risk, speculative asset. Pepe's performance underscores the volatile and often unpredictable nature of the crypto market, especially in the meme coin sector.

Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin Overview

• Market Cap: $1.21T
• Circulating Supply: 19.76M
• Total Supply: 19.76M
• YTD Performance: 44.79%

Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, continues to lead the market in 2024. Created in 2009, it operates on a decentralized network using blockchain technology. Bitcoin's fixed maximum supply of 21 million coins and its halving events contribute to its deflationary model, contrasting with traditional fiat currencies.

Why Bitcoin Is A Top Choice

Bitcoin's 44.79% YTD growth and $1.21 trillion market cap demonstrate its ongoing relevance. As the most recognized cryptocurrency, bitcoin benefits from widespread adoption and growing institutional interest. Its deflationary model and predictable supply (currently at 19.76 million coins) are key factors in its value proposition. Despite its strong performance, bitcoin remains subject to regulatory risks.

Bittensor (TAO)

Bittensor Overview

• Market Cap: $3.97B
• Circulating Supply: 7.38M
• Total Supply: 7.38M
• YTD Performance: 102.06%

Bittensor is a decentralized machine learning network. It aims to create a market for artificial intelligence, where machine learning models can be trained and monetized. The project's native token, TAO, is used for governance and incentivizing network participants.

Why Bittensor Is A Top Choice

Bittensor's 102.06% YTD growth reflects increasing interest in AI-focused blockchain projects. Its relatively low supply of 7.38 million tokens and $3.97 billion market cap suggest strong demand. However, you should be aware that the AI crypto sector is still emerging and may face technological and regulatory challenges.

BNB (BNB)

BNB Overview

• Market Cap: $79.45B
• Circulating Supply: 145.93M
• Total Supply: 145.93M
• YTD Performance: 74.21%

BNB, formerly known as Binance Coin, is the native cryptocurrency of the BNB Chain ecosystem. It's used for transaction fees, trading fee discounts on Binance, and participation in token sales on the Binance Launchpad.

Why BNB Is A Top Choice

BNB's 74.21% YTD increase and $79.45 billion market cap indicate its strong position in the crypto ecosystem. Its performance is tied to the success of Binance and the BNB Chain network. The alignment of circulating and total supply at 145.93 million tokens suggests transparency in token distribution. However, regulatory scrutiny of centralized exchanges could impact BNB's future performance.

Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET Artificial Superintelligence Alliance )

Artificial Superintelligence Alliance Overview

• Market Cap: $3.71B
• Circulating Supply: 2.52B
• Total Supply: 2.72B
• YTD Performance: 118.37%

Artificial Superintelligence Alliance is a project focused on the development and governance of artificial intelligence technologies using blockchain. The FET token is used for governance and accessing services within the ecosystem.

Why Artificial Superintelligence Alliance Is A Top Choice

FET's 118.37% YTD growth reflects the increasing interest in AI-blockchain integration. Its $3.71 billion market cap suggests significant market interest. The difference between circulating (2.52B) and total supply (2.72B) indicates potential for future token releases. AI-focused crypto projects are still in early stages and face both technological and regulatory uncertainties.

Ethereum (ETH)

Ethereum Overview

• Market Cap: $293.20B
• Circulating Supply: 120.37M
• Total Supply: 120.37M
• YTD Performance: 6.75%

Ethereum is a decentralized, open-source blockchain platform that enables smart contracts and decentralized applications (dApps). It's the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and a key player in the DeFi and NFT ecosystems.

Why Ethereum Is A Top Choice

Despite a modest 6.75% YTD growth, Ethereum's $293.20B market cap underscores its significant role in the crypto space. Its performance reflects broader market trends and ongoing developments in the Ethereum ecosystem. The alignment of circulating and total supply at 120.37M tokens indicates transparency in issuance.

Shiba Inu (SHIB)

Shiba Inu Overview

• Market Cap: $9.80B
• Circulating Supply: 589.27T
• Total Supply: 589.52T
• YTD Performance: 60.88%

Shiba Inu is a meme-inspired decentralized cryptocurrency. Created in 2020, it gained popularity as a community-driven project and has since expanded its ecosystem to include a decentralized exchange and NFT platform.

Why Shiba Inu Is A Top Choice

SHIB's 60.88% YTD growth and $9.80B market cap demonstrate continued interest in meme coins. Its large supply (589.27T circulating out of 589.52T total) distinguishes it from scarcer assets. While its performance is notable, investors should be aware of the high volatility and speculative nature often associated with meme coins.

TRON (TRX)

TRON Overview

• Market Cap: $13.35B
• Circulating Supply: 86.60B
• Total Supply: 86.60B
• YTD Performance: 43.16%

TRON is a blockchain-based operating system that aims to enable a global entertainment system with distributed storage technology. It supports smart contracts and various kinds of blockchain systems.

Why TRON Is A Top Choice

TRON's 43.16% YTD growth and $13.35B market cap reflect its established position in the crypto market. The alignment of circulating and total supply at 86.60B tokens suggests transparency in token distribution. TRON's performance is tied to its adoption in decentralized applications and content distribution platforms. However, like all cryptocurrencies, it faces regulatory and market risks.

Kaspa (KAS)

Kaspa Overview

• Market Cap: $2.09B
• Circulating Supply: 22.36B
• Total Supply: 22.36B
• YTD Performance: 421.52%

Kaspa is a proof-of-work cryptocurrency that uses the GHOSTDAG protocol, aiming to provide fast and secure transactions. It's designed to address scalability issues faced by traditional blockchain networks.

Why Kaspa Is A Top Choice

Kaspa's impressive 421.52% YTD growth and $2.09B market cap indicate strong market interest in its technological approach. The alignment of circulating and total supply at 22.36B tokens suggests transparency in issuance. Newer cryptocurrencies can be subject to high volatility and technical risks.

Sui Sui (SUI)

Sui Overview

• Market Cap: $763.62M
• Circulating Supply: 914.33M
• Total Supply: 10.00B
• YTD Performance: 66.23%

Sui is a layer-1 blockchain designed for high throughput and low latency. It uses a novel consensus mechanism and data structure to enable fast and scalable decentralized applications.

Why Sui Is A Top Choice

Sui's 66.23% YTD growth reflects market interest in scalable blockchain solutions. Its $763.62M market cap, while smaller than some competitors, suggests room for potential growth. The significant difference between circulating (914.33M) and total supply (10.00B) indicates a controlled token release strategy. As a relatively new project, Sui may face challenges in adoption and competition from established platforms.

Future Outlook For Cryptocurrencies In 2025

Governments worldwide are actively exploring ways to regulate digital assets, and the coming year may bring a wave of new legislation. These regulatory shifts could reshape the crypto market, making it important for participants to stay informed about legal developments in their jurisdictions.

The potential introduction of Central Bank Digital Currencies in various countries could significantly impact the crypto ecosystem. Meanwhile, stablecoins are experiencing strong growth in usage. If regulators don't impose strict limitations on stablecoins due to potential competition with CBDCs, we may see even stronger performance in this sector.

Emerging trends to watch include the expansion of decentralized prediction markets, AI-integrated blockchain projects, and Real World Asset tokenization initiatives. These developments could open new avenues for blockchain technology applications and potentially influence market dynamics in the coming year.

Bottom Line

The cryptocurrency market in 2024 exhibits a range of trends, from the explosive growth of meme coins to the steady development of established projects. Key success factors include community engagement, technological innovation, and integration with emerging technologies like AI. However, investors should remain aware of the sector's inherent volatility, regulatory uncertainties, and the speculative nature of many digital assets.

Looking ahead to 2025, the crypto landscape may be significantly shaped by incoming regulations, the potential introduction of CBDCs, and advancements in blockchain applications such as decentralized prediction markets and real-world asset tokenization.