RWA Leads Top Crypto Narratives Ranked by Returns in 2025
As 2025 is approaching its end, the cryptocurrency market is showing signs of resilience and innovation. Despite challenges faced by some sectors, Real-World Assets (RWA) have emerged as a beacon of hope, becoming the top crypto narrative in 2025.
At the same time, other narratives like meme coins and artificial intelligence posted significant losses during the period. The DeFi narrative also struggled, marking negative returns. The DEX narrative and layer 2 narrative were also ranked the least among the best-performing crypto narratives.
Why RWA Outperformed Other Crypto Narratives in 2025?
According to a recent CoinGecko report, Real-World Assets (RWA) has emerged as the most profitable crypto narrative of 2025, boasting an average price return of 185.8% year-to-date (YTD) across the largest tokens.
Significantly, the crypto narrative’s success can be attributed to the exceptional performance of key players like Keeta Network, which skyrocketed 1,794.9% YTD, followed by Zebec Network and Maple Finance, which saw gains of 217% and 123.0%, respectively.
Crypto reporter Wu Blockchain has also shared insights on the CoinGecko report via an X post.
According to CoinGecko’s Crypto Narratives Ranked by Returns 2025, RWA led the market with +185.76%, followed by Layer 1 (+80.31%) and Made in USA (+30.62%), while most other sectors posted losses—led by Gaming (−75.16%) and DePIN (−76.74%). https://t.co/BGdrxjLiSU pic.twitter.com/RtFW77ZVVu
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) December 26, 2025
Although RWA’s performance is impressive, it is worth noting that this year’s gains are significantly lower compared to 2024, when the narrative surged to 819.5%. Despite this, RWA’s strong showing in 2025 cements its position as a leading force in the crypto market.
Currently, as per CoinGecko data, the RWA sector is standing high, with its total market cap reaching $40.64 billion, marking a surge of 2.26%. The trading volume is recorded at $1.75 billion, boasting a significant 31.7% increase.
Layer 1 Ranks Second in Profitability
Layer 1 cryptocurrencies have emerged as one of the strongest-performing narratives in 2025, ranking second overall with an average year-to-date gain of 80%. The rally has been led by privacy-focused blockchains, with Zcash posting an explosive 691.3% surge and Monero climbing 143.6%. Other major L-1 networks, including Bitcoin Cash, BNB, and Tron, have also emerged as leading players.
What stands out is the consistency. Alongside real-world asset projects, Layer 1 is one of the only major crypto narratives to remain profitable for two consecutive years.
Unveiling the Crypto Narratives that Faltered in 2025
Despite their popularity, meme coins and artificial intelligence (AI) tokens have closed the year in the red. Meme coins recorded an average year-to-date loss of 31.6%, with most leading tokens suffering steep declines ranging from 44.6% to 82.5%. Ribbita by Virtuals stood out as a rare exception, managing to defy the broader downturn while much of the sector struggled.
Similarly, the AI narrative recorded an average loss of -50.2% YTD, with most major AI tokens down 49.8% to 84.3%, except for Alchemist AI and Kite.
The DeFi narrative also struggled, posting average returns of -34.8%. The DEC narrative fared worse, with losses of -55.5%, while the layer 2 narrative recorded a second consecutive year of losses, with average returns of -40.6%.
The GameFi and DePIN crypto narratives suffered the most significant losses. They posted average returns of -75.2% and -76.7% YTD, respectively. The largest gaming tokens saw price drops ranging from 40.1% to 92.5%, while DePIN tokens fell between 44.5% and 88.0%.
The Solana ecosystem narrative also experienced substantial losses, with a decline of 64.2% YTD, despite maintaining its popularity as the widely recognised blockchain ecosystem. Only Jupiter’s JLP managed to close the year with marginal gains, while other major Solana blockchain tokens plummeted between 33.5% and 83.1%.
