The combined market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies peaked at $2.9 trillion in 2021 before plummeting by 72% in 2022 to just $826 billion, on the back of several high-profile failures across the industry.

Sentiment has since improved as regulators clamped down on bad actors, and also thanks to the approval of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), which added some legitimacy to the crypto industry. Bitcoin soared 44% in the first half of 2024 alone and it's approaching a new record high, but an unlikely meme token did even better.

Shiba Inu (CRYPTO: SHIB) soared 61% in the first half of this year, but unlike Bitcoin, it didn't have ETF approvals or any other specific catalyst supporting its gains. The same speculative fever that drove Shiba Inu to a 45,278,000% return in 2021 -- which could have turned an investment of $3 into $1 million -- appears to be gathering momentum once again.

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Source Fool.com