The ongoing cryptocurrency bull run resulted in a dramatic rise in fortunes, with some coins seeing their year-to-date returns go through the roof.

What happened: Meme coins have taken the lead, with Popcat and First Neiro on Ethereum netting eye-popping returns to their holders in 2024.

NEIRO, an Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH)–based meme token, surged over 83% over the week, taking its YTD gains to 55,438%.

For the curious, NEIRO has been inspired by the sister of Kabosu, the inspiration behind Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE) and the accompanying army of dog-themed cryptocurrencies.

Powered by the rally, the coin has ballooned to a market capitalization of over $1 billion.

Cat-themed cryptocurrency, Popcat, saw its YTD gains rocket past 20,000% after a 30% spike over the past week.

The Solana (CRYPTO: SOL)–based coin stood at a market capitalization of $1.62 billion. Both POPCAT and NEIRO were among the top 10 biggest meme coins by market value as of this writing.

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Why It Matters: The blistering rally has also seen Dogecoin (CRYPTO: DOGE), the king of meme coins, more than double in value over the week. Its YTD gains have leapfrogged to 336%.

The coin flipped XRP (CRYPTO: XRP) and USD Coin (CRYPTO: USDC) to become the sixth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.

The rise had everything to do with expectations of an Elon Musk-headed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) under President-elect Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) hovered below $90,000 in what has been a record-shattering rally pinned on Donald Trump's presidential victory. The leading cryptocurrency was up over 110% since the beginning of 2024.

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