There are over 2.52 million cryptocurrencies in 2024 to date, according to an update from CoinGeck0.
This is 5.7 times more than the 0.44 million cryptocurrencies around “at the end of 2021.”
The CoinGecko report further noted that the number of cryptocurrencies “first broke into the millions range in September 2022 and reached 1.15 million by the end of the year, representing a 159.2% increase year-on-year (YoY).”
The number of cryptocurrencies then “increased by 72.3% YoY to 1.98 million by end 2023.”
While this may reflect a trend towards more tokenization, it is worth noting “that the total quantity includes relatively transient memecoins as well as dead coins.”
Over 0.54 million new crypto tokens have “been created in 2024 as of early April, which is equivalent to an average of 5,300 new tokens launched every day so far this year.”
Given that this is already “more than half of the 0.83 million new tokens launched last year, 2024 is on track to surpass 2023 in the number of new tokens onchain.”
In comparison, the report pointed out that 2022 recorded “a relatively smaller number of 0.71 million new tokens launched.”
The research report from CoinGecko also mentioned that “the amount of tokens launched seemed to reflect weakening crypto market conditions in 2022, with the number of new tokens decreasing quarterly.”
Token creation activity continued “to be subdued in Q1 2023, before returning to levels prior to the Terra/Luna collapse.”
It remains to be seen if the absolute number of new tokens launched “will continue to increase gradually or exponentially YoY, especially as the crypto industry seeks to bring more real-world assets onchain.”
The CoinGecko research report added that the memecoin season in May 2023 “led to a jump in new tokens launched, reaching a 104,118 monthly record high at the time.”
Memecoin season returned again “in late February this year, such that the number of new tokens launched in March 2024 spiked to 195,735 and set a new record high.”
According to the report, this highlights “the frenzy of memecoin activity as opportunistic participants launch derivatives of memecoins or themes that are already popular.”
As launching a token becomes increasingly easy with the help of platforms “such as Pump.fun, and onchain trading becomes more affordable, future memecoin seasons may lead to even greater spikes in new tokens.”
That said, January and February 2024 also “saw a large number of new tokens launched in each month, at 134,647 and 195,735 respectively.”
This perhaps suggests that onchain speculative activity is “on the rise regardless of broader rotations into memecoins.”
Methodology
The study released by CoinGecko examined the number of cryptocurrencies in existence “from December 31, 2021 to April 11, 2024, based on DEX tracker GeckoTerminal.”
For the purposes of this study, the terms ‘launched’ and ‘created’ were “used interchangeably, as were the terms ‘cryptocurrencies’, ‘tokens’ and ‘coins’.”