We tracked unicorn tokens, the crypto assets with a market cap above $1 billion, across multiple market cycles to see how the composition of the market has changed.

Jul 31, 2026

2 min read

CryptoRank

In our previous article, we took a look at 5 years back and realized that nearly 60% of the top-100 list has changed over the period of time. In this article, we analyze how large the altcoin market actually was during the same period and different market cycles.

We take a look at the Unicorn Tokens count each month to see what the trend was beyond the total market cap and bitcoin price. This indicator shows the number of assets with a total market cap of over $1 billion (this mark is commonly referred to as unicorn status in VC).

Our findings show that there were three peaks, when we had over 100 assets with a market cap above $1B:

October 2021: 105
November 2021: 107
March 2024: 103

Meanwhile, the lowest point was December 2022, with only 37 tokens, which took place right after the FTX crash, about a third of the cycle’s peak.

In earlier days, the market was more fragmented. For example, in 2021, fewer coins existed, and a rising market pushed the count above $1B to its peak of 107.

In 2025 it was different: despite Bitcoin's absolute all-time high near $126K, the number of tokens above $1B barely grew, stayed well below the 2021 record, and even started falling before Bitcoin peaked. Today far more tokens are launching, spreading the same liquidity across a much larger field. Over the past twelve months, the trend is clear: the number of coins above $1B keeps sliding.

On the chart plotted against the BTC price, the difference is obvious: 2021-2022 was an altcoin market, during which a lot of unicorn tokens existed. Since 2025, we are clearly in the Bitcoin market zone, and the spread is even further.

So far we've counted how many assets cross $1B. The more interesting question is what the composition of the unicorn group is. One thing holds throughout: blockchain coins always make up the largest share, at every peak and every low.

Stablecoins are the clearest gainer. Their share has climbed steadily, and today they make up 19% of all billion-dollar assets, as on-chain settlement became one of the core use cases for crypto. In July 2026, GameFi and NFT tokens have dropped out of the $1B club entirely. These groups were a visible slice back in 2021, but today there are no crypto unicorns.

Disclaimer: This post was independently created by the author(s) for general informational purposes and does not necessarily reflect the views of Algona Business Ltd. The author(s) may hold cryptocurrencies mentioned in this report. This post is not investment advice. Conduct your own research and consult an independent financial, tax, or legal advisor before making any investment decisions. The information here does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any financial instrument or participate in any trading strategy. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Without the prior written consent of CryptoRank, no part of this report may be copied, photocopied, reproduced or redistributed in any form or by any means.

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The 2021 Top 100 Crypto, Five Years Later

The 2021 Top 100 reflected the market at a very different stage: new Layer 1s, metaverse tokens, gaming platforms, and exchange tokens dominated the rankings. Five years later, that list looks very different. In this article, we examine what happened to the projects that were in the Top 100 back in 2021.

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