2023年度 TOP Crypto Projects: INJ Leads Gains, Lido Dominates TVL

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The crypto market saw a dramatic resurgence in late 2023 after a prolonged bearish phase, bringing renewed momentum across multiple sectors. From surging Layer1 tokens to explosive growth in DeFi and shifting dynamics in NFTs and social DApps, the year redefined market narratives. Based on comprehensive on-chain and trading data analysis, this report highlights the top-performing projects across key blockchain segments—highlighting trends, standout performers, and emerging opportunities.

Top Gainers in 2023: INJ, KAS, and RNDR Lead the Charge

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies by market cap, the average price increase for the top 30 gainers reached 512.75% in 2023. Leading the pack was Injective (INJ) with a staggering gain of over 2,994%, followed by Kaspa (KAS) and Render (RNDR) with increases of approximately 1,993% and 1,037%, respectively.

Other notable performers included MSOL, SOL, WEMIX, CFX, FET, and STX, all surpassing the average growth. Even Bitcoin saw a solid rise of 153%, placing it at #28 among the top gainers.

Interestingly, most of these high-growth assets were mid-to-lower tier in market capitalization—primarily ranked between #30 and #50. Only three top-10 market cap assets—BTC, SOL, and AVAX—made significant gains, indicating that 2023 favored emerging projects over established giants.

From a category perspective, Layer1 projects dominated, with 10 of the top 30 gainers falling under this segment. Layer2 and DeFi each contributed 4 and 6 tokens, respectively. AI and exchange platform tokens also showed strong momentum.

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Volatility remained high among top gainers—INJ had an average daily price swing of 1.15%, while lower-volatility tokens like OKB fluctuated by just 0.36%. Despite volatility, the overall trend was clearly upward, with an average daily movement of only 0.58% across the top gainers.

Liquidity varied significantly. While BTC averaged $189.5 billion** in daily trading volume, most high-growth tokens traded below **$100 million daily. For instance, KAS averaged just $17 million**, and MSOL and WEMIX each saw less than **$10 million in average daily volume—suggesting strong price action despite relatively thin markets.

Public Chains: Avalanche and Solana Surge in User Activity

Analyzing key public blockchains—including Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, BNB Chain, Tron, Polygon, Bitcoin, NEAR, Cardano, and Fantom—reveals shifting patterns in user adoption and transaction volume.

In terms of daily active addresses, Tron led with 1.81 million, followed by BNB Chain (1.16M) and Bitcoin (949K). Ethereum and Polygon lagged behind with around 400K–500K each.

Solana showed strong growth: from 418K daily users at the start of the year to over 803K by December 26. This suggests a full-year average near 600K, placing it between Bitcoin and Ethereum.

Avalanche also demonstrated impressive momentum, with daily active addresses rising from 45.7K to 155K—a year-over-year increase of over 239%, the highest among major chains. BNB Chain and Polygon also saw significant growth, while Bitcoin and Ethereum remained relatively stable.

When it comes to daily transactions, Tron again topped the list with over 6.5 million daily transactions. However, Solana’s peak daily transactions (excluding votes) reached 24.3 million in December, suggesting it may be the most transactionally active chain by volume.

NEAR recorded the highest transaction growth—over 1,144%—followed by Bitcoin (+100%) and Avalanche (+100%), likely driven by the growing popularity of blockchain-based data inscription ("Bitcoin ordinals" and similar trends).

Ethereum still generated the highest fees in 2023—$2.37 billion**, far surpassing Bitcoin’s **$734 million and BNB Chain’s $170 million—highlighting its continued dominance in value settlement and DeFi activity.

DeFi Soars: Lido Tops $205B TVL as New Protocols Emerge

The decentralized finance (DeFi) sector experienced steady growth in 2023, with total value locked (TVL) rising from $38 billion** to **$54.5 billion—an increase of about 43%—returning to levels last seen in mid-2022.

At the forefront was Lido, which led all protocols with a TVL of approximately $20.5 billion, largely due to its dominance in liquid staking for Ethereum and growing presence on other chains.

Following Lido were major players like MakerDAO, Aave, and JustLend, each holding between $6.4B and $8.4B in TVL. Additionally, 14 protocols—including Uniswap, Rocket Pool, and Summer.fi—maintained TVL above $1 billion.

Seven new protocols entered the TVL Top 30 in 2023: Blast, EigenLayer, Spark, among others—all achieving rapid adoption through innovative incentive models or novel yield mechanisms.

Among existing protocols, Jito saw the most dramatic growth—up nearly 19,710%—thanks to its leadership in Solana’s MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) and liquid staking solutions. Other high-growth platforms included:

Notably, many fast-growing protocols were built on Solana and Avalanche, signaling a shift away from Ethereum-centric DeFi dominance.

In terms of categories:

Emerging sectors like real-world assets (RWA) and derivatives began gaining traction despite limited representation in TVL rankings—highlighting future growth potential.

Revenue generation also favored established players:

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NFT Market Downturn: Blue-Chip Projects Plunge Amid New Rises

Despite increased transaction activity, the NFT market contracted significantly in 2023. Total market cap across Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and BNB Chain dropped from $23.4 billion** to **$16.1 billion—a decline of about 31%.

However, transaction volume rose by 27.95%, user addresses increased by 76.16%, and new NFT collections surged by nearly 197%, indicating more creators and participants entering the space despite falling prices.

Top trading volume leaders:

While trading activity remained strong, many blue-chip NFTs suffered steep price declines:

Yet some projects thrived:

These outliers suggest that narrative-driven utility or community engagement can still drive massive returns even in a bearish NFT climate.

Game & Social DApps: Explosive but Fleeting Growth

Game and social DApps gained attention in 2023 for their viral adoption patterns. According to DappRadar estimates:

Top gaming DApps by projected annual active users:

Top social DApps:

While gaming DApps averaged around 9.8 million projected annual users (top 10), social apps averaged only about 216K, showing stronger engagement in play-to-earn models.

However, most projects lacked sustainability—experiencing sharp spikes followed by rapid declines. For example:

Many top performers launched late in the year or migrated across chains—especially on Polygon, Ethereum, BNB Chain, NEAR, and Base—indicating multi-chain deployment is key for visibility.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: Which cryptocurrency had the highest price increase in 2023?
A: Injective (INJ) led all assets with a price surge of over 2,994% during the year.

Q: Why did Lido dominate DeFi TVL rankings?
A: Lido's leadership stems from its position as the largest liquid staking provider for Ethereum and expanding support across multiple blockchains.

Q: Did NFT trading activity really increase despite falling prices?
A: Yes—while NFT market caps dropped ~31%, trading volume rose nearly 28%, and user adoption increased by over 76%.

Q: Which public chains showed the strongest growth in user activity?
A: Avalanche had the highest growth in daily active addresses (+239%), while NEAR led in transaction growth (+1,144%).

Q: Are new DeFi protocols outperforming older ones?
A: While established platforms still lead in TVL and revenue, new entrants like Jito and EigenLayer showed extraordinary growth rates due to innovative models.

Q: Is Friend.tech still popular?
A: No—after peaking in October 2023, both user activity and transaction volume on Friend.tech declined significantly into year-end.

Core Keywords: INJ price surge, Lido TVL dominance, DeFi growth 2023, NFT market decline, Avalanche blockchain performance, Solana transaction volume, crypto DApp trends