In this article, we will take a look at the 15 Best Performing Shitcoins in 2023. 

From the name, shitcoin, it is perceptible that we are referring to below-par cryptocurrencies. Shitcoins are highly volatile altcoins trading on speculation and often pump and dump schemes. According to Coinmarketcap.com, “A shitcoin is a cryptocurrency with zero or close to zero value and no utility”. Shitcoin is a term used by crypto netizens to label altcoins that try to benefit from market sentiment or other cryptocurrencies to gain value without offering value on their own. Redditors also compare shitcoins with penny stocks. Shitcoins are just like penny stocks as they are also considered speculative, high-risk investments due to lower liquidity and higher volatility. 

After the inception of Bitcoin (BTC), altcoins became the center of attention for investors and cryptocurrency users. Altcoins were introduced as an alternative to Bitcoin. On October 7, 2011, Litecoin (LTC) emerged as the first altcoin in an attempt to make improvements to the original Bitcoin technology. Litecoin is fundamentally based on Bitcoin, but it has some major upgrades such as a higher speed for constructing a block. Ethereum (ETH) was the major development in the world of altcoins, which really accelerated the gear of cryptocurrency projects. Today, there are almost 9,094 digital coins listed on Coinmarketcap.com. Among them, a large number of digital coins are based on memes and jokes.

Altcoins such as Dogecoin (DOGE), Shiba Inu (SHIB), Terra Classic (LUNA), and Dogelon Mars (ELON) have gained huge attention in the market. Dogecoin (DOGE) entered the market as a meme coin and it gained massive attention following the tweets of Elon Musk on DOGE. Musk admires Dogecoin because of the humor around it and the coin’s affiliation with a dog. However, it is important to note that he is not advising people to invest in it. On May 23, The Wall Street Journal reported that Musk isn’t suggesting investing in Dogecoin (DOGE). During The Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit in London, Musk said: “I’m not advising anyone to buy crypto or bet the farm on dogecoin”.

As 2023 marks a decent year for the cryptocurrency market, some of the new shitcoin projects are having a great time. For instance, Pepe (PEPE), a deflationary meme coin, was launched earlier this year and it has made remarkable returns so far. Pepe (PEPE) has gained a whopping 980% in 2023 since its launch on April 17. While blue-chip digital assets may be the most appealing crypto projects in the market, such as Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), a large community of investors do not want to miss out on opportunities to invest in low-priced cryptocurrencies, which have higher upside potential. Usually, shitcoins have a huge upside potential due to their low prices and massive risks. Following the hype, new shitcoins are gaining popularity including Wall Street Memes (WSM), Chimpzee (CHMPZ), and eTukTuk (TUK).

Long-term holders are not much into shitcoins as the risk of losing value in shitcoin is higher. However, shitcoins are favorable for traders who want to bet on altcoins and take advantage as soon as they sense the upside for shitcoins. Many argue that shitcoins are just Ponzi schemes and are fraudulent crypto projects with anonymous development teams. Shitcoins can give you returns if you play safe. On April 20, Binance posted an article regarding an anonymous trader who made millions in profit by trading shitcoins. The anonymous individual traded over 3,000 shitcoins and made profits of over $2 million. One of the trader’s most profitable trades included buying Pepe (PEPE) with 0.013 ETH and making a 32,000X profit. The key takeaways from his trades were to invest in shitcoins considering their fundamentals and trends, setting stop loss limit, and taking profits quickly. Apart from these tactics, investing in shitcoins can be pretty risky and you are at risk of losing your investments in the blink of an eye, considering the sudden dump in shitcoins. 

The cryptocurrency market as a whole is a highly volatile market when compared to the stock market and other financial markets. The crypto industry is still facing regulatory problems around the world, but a lot of things have also developed, creating a positive impact going forward. As we mentioned earlier, the global cryptocurrency market stood at around $2 trillion in 2022 and it is projected to reach $4 trillion by 2028, according to IMARC Group. That marks a compound annual growth rate of 11.7% between 2023 and 2028 for the global cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) dominate the cryptocurrency market, both having a joint market share of 67.3%, as of September 22. While the remaining 32.7% market share is occupied by other altcoins and shitcoins. Let’s take a look at some of the best performing shitcoins in 2023 now.

Our Methodology

Crypto users have their own way of perceiving an altcoin as a shitcoin. According to different definitions, shitcoin is a cryptocurrency with not much value or closer to zero value, a highly volatile asset, and no utility. 

We considered altcoins with value of less than one dollar and that are relatively new projects. We shortlisted the top 15 altcoins that had the highest year-to-date returns in 2023 on Coinmarketcap.com, as of 3:00 a.m. ET on September 22. We have ranked the altcoins in ascending order of their year-to-date returns as of September 22.

Note: We have excluded altcoins such as XRP (XRP) and TRON (TRX) that trade below zero dollars, as they have been in the market for a long time now and are backed by notable development teams.

Here is the list of 15 best performing shitcoins in 2023. 

15 Best Performing Shitcoins in 2023

15. VeChain (VET)

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 6.14%

VeChain (VET) network launched its mainnet in 2018. VeChain network uses a layer-1 smart contract and is based on the VeChainThor public blockchain. Trading around $0.01 with a market capitalization of $1.2 billion, as of September 22, VeChain (VET) ranks 15th on our list of the best performing shitcoins in 2023.

14. eCash (XEC)

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 9.61%

On July 1, 2021, Bitcoin Cash ABC (BCHA) rebranded itself to eCash (XEC). The digital asset is a fork of Bitcoin (BTC) and Bitcoin Cash (BCH), while eCash (XEC) calls itself a cryptocurrency to be used as electronic cash. eCash (XEC) has a market capitalization of $472.18 million and a trading volume of $6.76 million, as of September 22. eCash (XEC) makes it to our list of the best performing shitcoins in 2023. 

13. Casper (CSPR)

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 16.72%

Casper (CSPR) was launched on the mainnet on March 30, 2023. The digital coin is the first live proof-of-stake (PoS) blockchain that is built off the Casper CBC specification. Designed to improve the adoption of blockchain technology, Casper (CSPR) has still to prove its worth in the market. Trading around $0.033, as of September 22, Casper (CSPR) makes it to our list of the best performing shitcoins in 2023.

12. MonaCoin (MONA) 

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 19.72%

MonaCoin (MONA) was introduced as a digital coin based on a cat-like internet meme, the famous ASCII art character, Mona. MonaCoin (MONA) is the first altcoin developed in Japan. MonaCoin (MONA) was created under the name ‘Mr. Wantanabe’ and its development team remains anonymous. MonaCoin (MONA) has a market capitalization of $27 million, as of September 22. The digital asset is formed on the hard fork of Litecoin (LTC) and ranks among the best performing shitcoins in 2023.

11. Hedera (HBAR)

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 31.75%

Hedera (HBAR) was funded through an initial coin offering (ICO) in August 2018. Later in September 2019, the digital coin launched its open access to its mainnet. Hedera (HBAR) seems to have a notable team as the cryptocurrency promises to offer a sustainable enterprise-grade public network for the decentralized economy. The crypto project has yet to prove its worth in the market as it trades at around $0.05, as of September 22. Ranked 11th on our list, Hedera (HBAR) is one of the best performing shitcoins in 2023. 

10. WOO Network (WOO)

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 33.87%

WOO Network (WOO) uses a deep liquidity network that connects traders, institutions, exchanges, and decentralized platforms, giving access to liquidity and trading at a lower cost. Incubated in 2019, WOO Network (WOO) has a market capitalization of $288 million, as of September 22. The digital coin makes it to our list of the best performing shitcoins in 2023. 

9. The Graph (GRT)

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 55.38%

The Graph (GRT) is based on an indexing protocol that solves query data for networks such as Ethereum and IPFS. Anyone on the internet can create and publish open APIs, called subgraphs, to retrieve blockchain data. With a market capitalization of around $814 million, as of September 22, The Graph (GRT) is ranked 9th on our list of the best performing shitcoins in 2023.

8. Immutable (IMX)

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 72.64%

Immutable (IMX) positions its crypto technology to be the first layer-2 scaling solution for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum. According to Immutable, users can instantly trade and enjoy massive scalability for NFTs without gas fees. Immutable (IMX) is trading around $0.61 and has a market capitalization of $719 million, as of September 22. The digital asset ranks among the best performing shitcoins in 2023.

7. FLOKI (FLOKI)

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 90.65%

FLOKI (FLOKI) is the people’s cryptocurrency and it is named after the famous Vikings character Floki. The FLOKI (FLOKI) community calls itself the ‘Floki Vikings.’ A cryptocurrency inspired by fans and members of Shiba Inu (SHIB), it remains one of the best performing shitcoins in 2023. FLOKI (FLOKI) has a market capitalization of $147 million, as of September 22. 

6. XDC Network (XDC)

Year-to-Date Return (As of September 22, 2023): 99.68%

XDC Network (XDC) exists as both a public and private blockchain platform, based on a hybrid model. XDC Network, previously known as XinFin Network, aims to provide streamlined fintech services to its users. XDC Network (XDC) is trading around $0.05 and has a market capitalization of $701 million, as of September 22. Ranked sixth on our list, the crypto asset is one of the best performing shitcoins in 2023.