Original author: Crypto, Distilled
Original translation: TechFlow
The saturation of altcoins has gone through the roof . But how serious is it? I read CoinGecko’s latest report to find out. “ In a sea of opportunities, investors are hungry for high yields. ”
How many cryptocurrencies are there?
In 2024, there are more than 2.5 million cryptocurrencies, a 5.7-fold increase from 440,000 in 2021. By the end of 2022, this number reached 1.15 million, a year-on-year increase of 159.2%; by the end of 2023, this number further increased to 1.98 million, a year-on-year increase of 72.3%.
Number of new tokens:
As of early April 2024, over 540,000 new tokens have been created, an average of 5,300 per day. Since the start of 2023, this rate has exceeded half of the 830,000 new tokens created.
Meme Coin Season Effect:
A record of 104k tokens issued was set in May 2023, but a new high was set in March 2024 with 196k.
These surges highlight the activity in the meme market, where thematic and derivative tokens are rapidly emerging.
What's driving this saturation?
GCR believes that one potential reason is imitation of successful projects. In this fast-moving industry, success breeds imitation, resulting in a large number of derivatives being created quickly in pursuit of higher returns.
How to find your way in a saturated market?
As saturation rises, sifting through altcoins becomes essential. Every week, it becomes more difficult to find quality projects in a crowded market.
@0x_Kun proposed 5 criteria:
Grand narrative
Increase user base
Strong community
Low unit bias
Clear value
Don’t get too hung up on your tokens
Winning the pick does not guarantee success. Many people lose gains by being too attached to the tokens they hold. During 2020-2021, 70% of the 11,000 tokens listed failed. Similarly, during 2017-2018, 70% of the 3,000+ tokens failed.
Final Thoughts
Despite the rapidly saturating market, opportunities still exist for smart and hard-working people.
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