Whether it’s the S&P 500 or cryptocurrency, every bull market has its leaders. The hottest sectors explode with some of the biggest gains of the bull market, and they also tend to start their climb much earlier than the rest of the pack.

As the current crypto bull market unfolds, I’ve pinpointed which sectors are poised to lead the way in 2024… and beyond.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you know that AI is one of the hottest narratives in technology. AI has taken off in the traditional and crypto markets alike.

ChatGPT kicked off this explosion in interest for AI. The AI train didn’t stop there, and valuations for any company, stock, or crypto even somewhat related to AI have gone bananas over the last year or so. Best of all, I think there’s plenty more room to run.

One of the biggest leaders in crypto AI is Render Network (RNDR), which is part of a subsector of crypto AI called DePin.

DePin, short for Decentralized Physical Infrastructure, refers to the utilization of blockchain technology to create a decentralized network of physical assets and infrastructure. This sector of cryptocurrency aims to decentralize ownership, management, and access to physical resources.

These physical resources could be energy grids, transportation systems, and/or real estate. By leveraging blockchain’s transparency, security, and immutability, DePin projects seek to foster efficiency, reduce costs, and promote equitable access to essential services. When integrated with AI technologies, DePin can enhance automation, optimize resource allocation, and enable predictive maintenance, thereby revolutionizing how physical infrastructure is managed and utilized.

RNDR is one of the main leaders of the DePin sector and has been on a hell of a hot streak over the last few months. RNDR started off September trading around $1.30 and crossed above $13 just over a week ago. There’s your infamous 10X crypto trade! They happen more often than you might think.

RNDR has seemingly exploded out of nowhere and is now the 31st-largest crypto project by market cap. That doesn’t mean it has run out of room to grow, though. I think RNDR has the potential to cement itself as a crypto blue chip by the end of this cycle.

Another notably blazing hot AI cryptocurrency is Akash Network (AKT).

An AI-adjacent project, Akash Network is one of my personal favorites in the crypto realm. It is a decentralized computation marketplace, and boy do we know AI projects need computational power. AKT has been leading the way in that regard and just got listed on Coinbase. I can’t see the demand for AKT diminishing anytime soon now that it just got listed on the biggest exchange in North America.

Memecoins

Memecoins are retail investors’ favorite sector of cryptocurrency. You either love ‘em or hate ‘em but you can’t escape ‘em. Memecoins are a pillar of crypto culture and the crypto market.

I shied away from memecoins for years after I first got into crypto. I thought they were silly and stupid and every data point and analytical tool I used told me to stay away from memecoins like the plague. I was wrong.

Memecoins are a joke, literally, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make money trading them. That’s the keyword here: trade. These aren’t coins to invest in over the long term. However, you can make good money trading memecoins because retail loves them so much.

There already has been a ton of volume in memcoins over the last few months and I certainly don’t see that slowing down anytime soon. Just take a look at the success of Pepe and WIF, both of which were only created within the last year.

Pepe was released in 2023 and had its first big price explosion last summer. However, it died down for months in fall 2023. It skyrocketed again this year and it’s up over 500% year to date. That just goes to show you that you shouldn’t ignore this sector of the crypto market.

WIF, the memecoin of the dog “wif” hat, is up over 1000% since it started trading on Kraken at the start of February. That’s an insane run in such a short period of time. Don’t completely rule out memecoins just because they’re funny jokes. They are rising in popularity and popping up on just about every blockchain.

Decentralized Gaming

Unlike the other two sectors, gaming has yet to have its time under the spotlight so far in this bull market. This sector really popped off towards the end of the last cycle with projects like Axie Infinity, but its run was cut short.

The bull market topped out before gaming really hit its stride last time around. I think attention will shift back toward the decentralized gaming sector as this bull market develops.

Decentralized gaming holds immense potential to emerge as one of the dominant sectors in the upcoming crypto bull run. With the convergence of blockchain technology and gaming ecosystems, decentralized gaming platforms offer unprecedented levels of ownership, interoperability, and monetization for players.

By leveraging blockchain’s transparency, security, and decentralization, these platforms enable players to truly own their in-game assets and participate in decentralized economies. Additionally, decentralized gaming fosters community-driven governance models. They allow players to have a say in the development and direction of their favorite games. That’s huge and makes players feel like a part of a gaming community as opposed to just customers.

As the demand for play-to-earn gaming models continues to rise and traditional gaming platforms face increasing scrutiny over centralized control and monetization practices, decentralized gaming stands poised to revolutionize the gaming industry and attract significant investment and adoption in the next crypto bull run.

Conclusion

During a crypto bull market, activity tends to move in waves. Sometimes the whole market will rise or fall at once, and at other times one sector will move uncorrelated to the rest of the market. Those sectors that have the power to move uncorrelated to the rest of the market tend to be the biggest winners of the cycle.

During the last bull market, we saw this phenomenon play out with DeFi (Decentralized Finance) and smart contract protocols. Both sectors produced massive winners and many projects that grew by more than 10X. This time around we’ve already seen the AI sector and memecoin sectors show their strength, and I think gaming will follow suit. These are the sectors to watch as we progress into this next big crypto bull market.

Editor’s Note: The cryptocurrency market is on a tear so far this year. When considering crypto investments, it’s essential to research them thoroughly and understand their underlying technology.

Every portfolio should have some sort of exposure to crypto. But you need to be informed, to make the right choices. The good news is, the experts at Investing Daily have done the homework for you.

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This article previously appeared on Investing Daily.