Crypto Hype History

A comprehensive catalog of crypto's most exciting trends, hyped projects, and money-making moments throughout history

15

Major Hypes

58

Featured Tokens

8/10

Avg Impact Score

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Showing 15 of 15 crypto hypes

Memecoin Supercycle
9/10
Solana-based memecoins exploded with new launchpads and viral tokens, while established memes like Dogecoin and Shiba Inu saw renewed interest from institutional adoption.
Memecoins
Solana
Pump.fun
Jan 2024 - Dec 2024

Key Tokens

WIFdogwifhat
active
BONKBonk
active
PEPEPepe
active

+2 more tokens

Market Impact

Total memecoin market cap exceeded $120B. Generated billions in trading volume and brought millions of new users to crypto.

Crypto ETF Approval Wave
10/10
SEC approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot ETFs brought institutional money flooding into crypto, with billions in inflows and mainstream financial adoption.
ETF
Institutional
Bitcoin
Jan 2024 - Dec 2024

Key Tokens

BTCBitcoin
active
ETHEthereum
active
Market Impact

Bitcoin ETFs attracted $30B+ in first year. Bitcoin reached new all-time high above $100K.

Solana Renaissance
9/10
After FTX collapse nearly killed Solana, the network experienced a dramatic comeback driven by memecoins, new applications, and improved infrastructure.
Solana
Layer 1
Memecoins
Oct 2023 - Dec 2024

Key Tokens

SOLSolana
active
JUPJupiter
active
JTOJito
active

+1 more tokens

Market Impact

SOL price surged from $8 to $260+. Solana became #3 cryptocurrency by market cap.

Restaking & EigenLayer
7/10
EigenLayer introduced restaking, allowing Ethereum validators to secure additional protocols and earn extra yield, creating a new primitive for blockchain security.
Restaking
Ethereum
Yield
Jun 2023 - Aug 2024

Key Tokens

EIGENEigenLayer
active
LDOLido DAO
active
RPLRocket Pool
active
Market Impact

Restaking TVL peaked at over $15 billion. Created new category of blockchain security services.

Real World Assets (RWA)
8/10
Traditional assets like treasury bills, real estate, and commodities began being tokenized on blockchains, promising to bridge TradFi and DeFi.
RWA
Tokenization
TradFi
Mar 2023 - Dec 2024

Key Tokens

ONDOOndo Finance
active
CFGCentrifuge
active
PENDLEPendle
active

+1 more tokens

Market Impact

RWA token market cap exceeded $8 billion. Major asset managers began tokenizing funds.

AI Token Mania
7/10
ChatGPT's viral success sparked speculation on AI-related cryptocurrencies, with tokens pumping on any AI-related announcement or partnership.
AI
Machine Learning
Computing
Jan 2023 - Jun 2024

Key Tokens

AGIXSingularityNET
active
FETFetch.ai
active
GRTThe Graph
active

+2 more tokens

Market Impact

AI token market cap reached $25B at peak. Demonstrated crypto's ability to capitalize on mainstream tech trends.

Bitcoin Ordinals & BRC-20
6/10
Inscriptions on Bitcoin brought NFTs and fungible tokens to the Bitcoin network, causing network congestion but also renewed interest in Bitcoin beyond store of value.
Bitcoin
NFT
Ordinals
Jan 2023 - Feb 2024

Key Tokens

ORDIOrdi
active
1000SATSSats
active
RATSRats
active
Market Impact

Bitcoin miners earned record fees. Demonstrated Bitcoin could support more complex applications beyond payments.

Terra Luna Ecosystem
8/10
Algorithmic stablecoins and 20% yield on TerraUSD (UST) attracted billions in deposits, promising a new model for decentralized money before spectacularly collapsing.
Stablecoins
DeFi
Algorithmic
Sep 2021 - May 2022

Key Tokens

LUNATerra
dead
USTTerraUSD
dead
ANCAnchor Protocol
dead
Market Impact

At peak, UST was 3rd largest stablecoin with $18.7B supply. Collapse wiped out $60B in value and shook confidence in algorithmic stablecoins.

Metaverse Hype
6/10
Facebook's rebranding to Meta sparked massive speculation on virtual worlds, digital real estate, and the future of human interaction in blockchain-based virtual environments.
Metaverse
Virtual Real Estate
Gaming
Aug 2021 - Sep 2022

Key Tokens

MANADecentraland
active
SANDThe Sandbox
active
ENJEnjin Coin
active

+1 more tokens

Market Impact

Virtual land sales reached $500M in 2021. Every major tech company announced metaverse initiatives.

Layer 2 Solutions
8/10
High Ethereum fees drove massive adoption of Layer 2 scaling solutions like Polygon, Arbitrum, and Optimism, promising fast, cheap transactions while maintaining security.
Layer 2
Scaling
Infrastructure
May 2021 - Mar 2023

Key Tokens

MATICPolygon
active
ARBArbitrum
active
OPOptimism
active

+1 more tokens

Market Impact

Layer 2 TVL grew from $1B to $10B+. Enabled mainstream DeFi usage and proved scaling solutions could work.

GameFi & Play-to-Earn
8/10
Gaming meets DeFi as players rushed to earn money by playing blockchain games, with Axie Infinity leading the charge and promising to revolutionize gaming economics.
GameFi
P2E
NFT
Gaming
Mar 2021 - Aug 2022

Key Tokens

AXSAxie Infinity
active
SLPSmooth Love Potion
active
GMTSTEPN
active

+1 more tokens

Market Impact

Axie Infinity generated $1.3B revenue in 2021. Created entire ecosystems of professional gamers and gaming guilds worth billions.

NFT Craze
9/10
Digital art and collectibles exploded into mainstream consciousness as celebrities, brands, and everyday people rushed to mint, buy, and flip JPEGs for astronomical sums.
NFT
Digital Art
PFP
Gaming
Jan 2021 - Jun 2022

Key Tokens

APEApeCoin
active
AXSAxie Infinity
active
MANADecentraland
active

+1 more tokens

Market Impact

NFT trading volume peaked at $17B in January 2022. Created new asset class worth billions and brought millions of users to crypto for the first time.

Memecoin Mania (Doge Era)
7/10
Dogecoin and Shiba Inu captured retail imagination with Elon Musk tweets, creating a frenzy around dog-themed tokens and meme-based investing.
Memecoins
Retail
Social Media
Jan 2021 - Nov 2021

Key Tokens

DOGEDogecoin
active
SHIBShiba Inu
active
SAFEMOONSafeMoon
dead

+1 more tokens

Market Impact

Dogecoin reached top 5 by market cap. Demonstrated power of social media and celebrity influence in crypto markets.

DeFi Summer
10/10
The explosive growth of decentralized finance protocols offering yield farming, liquidity mining, and automated market makers that promised to recreate traditional finance on blockchain.
DeFi
Yield Farming
AMM
Jun 2020 - May 2021

Key Tokens

UNIUniswap
active
AAVEAave
active
COMPCompound
active

+2 more tokens

Market Impact

DeFi TVL grew from $1B to $80B. Created entirely new financial primitives and proved blockchain could handle complex financial operations.

ICO Boom
9/10
The initial coin offering craze that saw thousands of projects raise billions through token sales, promising to revolutionize every industry imaginable.
ICO
Fundraising
Speculation
Jan 2017 - Jun 2018

Key Tokens

ETHEthereum
active
EOSEOS
active
FILFilecoin
active

+1 more tokens

Market Impact

Over $6.2 billion raised in 2017 alone. Created the blueprint for token economics and utility tokens, but also led to massive regulatory crackdowns.

Data compiled from crypto history • Last updated: 2024