16 days have passed since 2022 and cryptocurrencies in general have had a rough start.

The year started with a total market cap of $2.2 trillion. However, talk of inflationary pressures and rate hikes took their toll, sparking a sell-off that bottomed at $1.9 trillion on Saturday.

Although we see many signs of recovery, the risk of monetary tightening remains. This leaves crypto sentiment in a precarious state, with investors waiting to see what happens next.

This is in contrast to early 2021, when Bitcoin generated a wave of momentum after breaking a three-year resistance level in December 2020. It reached $65,000 in April 2021 and an all-time high of $69,200 in November 2021.

However, Bitcoin’s overall performance in 2021 is slightly lower (by crypto standards), growing by just 60% year-on-year.

BTC/USDT | Source: Trade View

Still, Bitcoin outperformed the S&P500 (+27%), Dow Jones (+19%) and Nasdaq (+21%) over the same period.

Overall, all of these assets are similar in that their performance pales in comparison to that of the biggest bulls of 2021.

BILLIONWhich cryptocurrencies will perform best in 2021?

Follow entrepreneurHere are the top performing cryptocurrencies over the past year.

The virtual world platform Decentraland (MANA) is in 10th place with an increase of 3,900%.

MANA/USDT | Source: Trade View

Harmony (ONE) is designed as a decentralized application platform with random state sharding. ONE is up 5,500% in 2021.

ONE/USDT | Source: Trade View

Kadena (KDA) describes itself as the only scalable Layer 1 proof-of-work blockchain. KDA increased by 8,900%.

KDA/USDT | Source: Trade View

Solana (SOL) focuses on DeFi solutions using the new proof-of-history consensus mechanism. SOL is up 9,400% over the past year.

SOL/USDT | Source: Trade View

Fantom (FTM) offers DeFi services via a pivot graph based platform. FTM posted a 13,100% gain in 2021.

FTM/USDT | Source: Trade View

Terra (LUNA) uses stablecoins to power the global payment network. It’s up 13,700%.

LUNA/USDT | Source: Trade View

Polygon (MATIC) is a Layer 2 scaling solution aiming to turn Ethereum into a multi-chain network. MATIC is up 14.60% in 2021.

MATIC/USDT | Source: Trade View

Axie Infinity (AXS) is the premier play-to-earn game. AXS has had a 16,200% growth rate over the past year.

AXIS/USDT | Source: Trade View

The sandbox (SAND) combines blockchain and gaming with the ability to create and trade digital assets. The value of SAND will increase by 16,300% in 2021.

SAND/USDT | Source: Trade View

Gala (GALA), on a mission to build blockchain games people want to play, tops the 2021 growth list with a staggering 45,000% return.

GALA/USDT | Source: Trade View

Can 2022 repeat the success of the previous year?

Although 2022 got off to a rocky start, there is hope that hot tokens will continue to build on these achievements.

At the moment it is too early to predict the best performers of the new year, but it should be noted that the top performing cryptocurrencies of 2021 are in the thriving Metaverse and GameFi sectors.

At the same time, it is necessary to assess the macroeconomic picture and add the increasing scrutiny by the regulator. So at least be careful.

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