Gaming, Layer 2 token indices post losses for 2024, while all other sectors gained

On the whole, 2024 saw crypto projects across many sectors gain value, acquire users, and develop new technology. But not all sectors were equally successful—and two in particular posted losses, according to price data. 

A survey of The Block's GMCI Indices confirms some popular narratives, with the memecoin and AI indices posting the largest gains in 2024, though Layer 1 tokens and the top 30 crypto projects gained significant value as well. 

However, two out of the twelve total indices lost value overall in 2024: GMCI Gaming , which shed about 16% of its value in 2024, and GMCI L2 , which fell about 30%. 

The gaming index holds 12 digital assets across the gaming sector, with its top holdings of Beam (BEAM), ImmutableX (IMX), and Gala (GALA) comprising nearly 60% of the index by value. Notably, the index doesn't include TON, though Telegram-based crypto games found an audience of nearly one billion people, boosting TON's value by over 100% in 2024. 

The Layer 2 index holds just nine assets, its top three holdings of Mantle (MNT), Polygon (POL), and Arbitrum (ARB) comprising over 60% of the index by value. Declines in the price of POL (formerly MATIC) and ARB weighed down the index, despite MNT's gains throughout 2024. 

However, 2025 could see a reversal of the L2 index's downward trend. The Consensys-incubated Ethereum Layer 2 network Linea has planned its token launch for the first quarter of 2025, which could help invigorate the sector. Unichain, the Layer 2 network developed by Uniswap, has also planned its mainnet launch for "early 2025," adding another chain to Optimism's Superchain ecosystem.  

The GMCI 30 index , which represents a selection of the top 30 digital assets, gained nearly 90% in 2024, though it's down about 5.2% on the month. The index performed third-best out of the twelve indices in 2024, behind the memecoin and AI indices.