10
Synapse SYN
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $4,663.50
The cross-chain bridge protocol rounds out the top 10 — and it still nearly quintupled investors' money. In any normal year, +366% wins the whole leaderboard.
See Synapse's full YTD stats →2026 Crypto Rankings
10 Cryptos Absolutely Destroying 2026
One crypto is up 13,038% this year. We ranked 500 cryptocurrencies by year-to-date return — here are the top 10.
DATA AS OF SEPTEMBER 18, 2026Bitcoin had a good year. These coins had a ridiculous year. Counting down from #10 — every figure below is the true year-to-date return since January 1, 2026:
9
Kinetiq KNTQ
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $5,029.10
A 5x return since New Year's Day — and it's only ninth. That tells you the absurd standard 2026 set for crypto's leaderboard.
See Kinetiq's full YTD stats →8
BCGame Coin BC
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $5,040.40
The token of the BC.Game crypto casino. Love it or hate it, the house token quintupled in 2026.
See BCGame Coin's full YTD stats →7
ADI ADI
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $7,475.10
Up 7.5x since January. The middle of this top 10 is territory most coins never sniff in a full bull market.
See ADI's full YTD stats →6
Cortex CX
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $7,759.10
Nearly a 7x. Cortex's run is the kind of move that turns a lunch-money position into a down payment.
See Cortex's full YTD stats →Want the full picture?
All 500 cryptos, ranked by YTD return and updated every morning.
See the full leaderboard5
Derive DRV
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $8,085.80
The decentralized options trading protocol (formerly Lyra) has gone 8x in 2026 — DeFi's loudest comeback story of the year.
See Derive's full YTD stats →4
Diem DIEM
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $8,794.70
Nearly a 9-bagger since New Year's. Whatever the narrative, the chart speaks for itself.
See Diem's full YTD stats →3
Bedrock BR
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $15,225.60
A 15x. Bedrock's restaking run put it in the bronze position — more than double the #4 coin's return.
See Bedrock's full YTD stats →2
Venice Token VVV
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $17,389.90
The token tied to Venice, the private AI app, went 17x in 2026 — the AI-crypto trade's biggest winner among established coins.
See Venice Token's full YTD stats →1
Akedo AKE
$1,000 on Jan 1 → $131,383.20
The runaway winner of 2026 — by a mile. Akedo is up 13,038% since January 1, nearly 8x the #2 coin's return. A $1,000 New Year's Day bet would be worth over $131,000 today. Nothing else in crypto came close.
See Akedo's full YTD stats →Bonus: the 2026 newcomers going even harder
These coins launched after January 1, so their gains aren't YTD — they're measured from the day we started tracking them. Even wilder numbers, even wilder risk:
- Boner Coin (BONER) — +42,764.76% since Aug 21, 2026
- Baby Claw (BABYCLAW) — +34,284.20% since Feb 17, 2026
- Artificial Inu (AI) — +27,365.77% since Jul 20, 2026
- The Black Bull (ANSEM) — +25,734.04% since Jun 21, 2026
- STONK (STONK) — +8,498.03% since Aug 5, 2026
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See where your coins rank
The complete 500-crypto YTD leaderboard — updated every morning.
View the full rankingHow this ranking works
YTD return is measured from the January 1, 2026 price to the latest price, using CoinGecko data. Coins that launched after January 1 are tracked separately in the "New in 2026" section — their figures measure return since tracking began, not YTD, and can't be compared with YTD numbers. Figures above reflect data as of September 18, 2026; the live leaderboard updates daily and these positions may have shifted.
This page is for informational purposes only and is not financial advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any asset. Crypto is extremely volatile — most new coins in the bonus list above could go to zero. Past performance does not guarantee future results.