It was a volatile year—overall, crypto turned out to be one of the worst-performing asset classes, lagging behind stocks, gold, and even traditional savings.dae781 Many coins saw big drops due to market shocks like tariffs and shifting investor sentiment.a8926f But some still shone bright.
Here's a breakdown of the biggest winners and losers based on year-to-date (YTD) performance as of late December 2025.
THE BIG WINNERS
These coins saw massive gains, often driven by new trends like privacy features, airdrops, or niche narratives in the crypto world. Data from CoinGecko's analysis of the top 300 coins by market cap (excluding stablecoins and similar).
MYX FINANCE (MYX): +3,358% – A BNB Chain project that launched mid-year with a popular airdrop, but it faced some controversy over trading practices.
ZCASH (ZEC): +574% – A privacy-focused coin that rallied big in the fall thanks to renewed interest in anonymous transactions.
RAIN PROTOCOL: +185% – Tied to prediction markets, it benefited from speculative betting trends.
ZEBEC NETWORK: +164% – Focused on payments and real-world assets (RWA), showing how crypto is linking to traditional finance.
ZORA: +138% – A SocialFi project (social finance), gaining from community-driven hype.
Other notable winners included Monero (XMR) at +116% for privacy, and OKB at +115% as an exchange token.
THE BIG LOSERS
On the flip side, many established coins took a hit. Crypto as a whole underperformed, with some altcoins dropping over
Here's a look at some of the worst performers:
BITCOIN (BTC): -8% – The king of crypto started strong but ended down, despite hitting new highs earlier. It dropped from about $93,500 to $86,000.
ETHEREUM (ETH): -15% – The second-biggest coin fell from $3,337 to $2,828, hurt by market volatility and competition.
HEDERA (HBAR): Around -19% (noted early in the year, but indicative of broader altcoin struggles).
Many other altcoins (smaller coins) saw losses of 40% or more, especially those without strong narratives or updates.
Coins to avoid in hindsight included things like SafeMoon, which faced fraud allegations and regulatory issues.
KEY TAKEAWAYS FOR BEGINNERS
CRYPTO IS Risky: Prices can swing wildly due to news, regulations, or global events—like the tariffs that caused a massive $19B liquidation in October.
WINNERS OFTEN TIE TO TRENDS: Privacy (like Zcash), AI (Alchemist AI), or new launches drove gains.
LOSERS SHOW MARKET MATURITY: Even big names like BTC and ETH can lose value if sentiment shifts.
ADVICE: If you're interested, start small, diversify, and learn about fundamentals. Maybe stick to established ones like BTC for now.
Hope this helps you understand the crypto world a bit better! Let me know if you want more details. ❤️
