CoinGecko published a study of the most volatile cryptocurrencies among the top 100 by market capitalization, splitting the analysis into two periods: the full year of 2025 and the stretch from the beginning of 2026 through May 25.
Analysts ranked the assets by the scale of their percentage price swings, excluding stablecoins, wrapped assets, and synthetic tokens. The results highlighted a смену лидеров: a year ago, privacy coins and exchange tokens dominated the market, while in 2026, younger AI-focused projects surged to the front.
Leaders of 2025
Zcash (ZEC) became the year’s biggest volatility driver, soaring 812.5% from $56.10 to $511.92. The rally coincided with intensifying global debate around financial surveillance and transaction privacy, reviving investor interest in coins designed to obscure payment data.
Exchange and privacy tokens followed close behind. WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) climbed 129.6% from $24.56 to $56.41, Monero (XMR) gained 124.2% from $193.24 to $433.18, while OKB advanced 122.9% from $49.07 to $109.35 amid OKX’s expansion and continued token burns.
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) rounded out the top five, although its position was driven by a collapse rather than growth. The token plunged 84.2%, dropping from $1.27 to $0.20. The decline reflected a broader correction across the AI sector after an earlier wave of overheated speculation.
Leaders of 2026
The year’s sharpest move came from Venice (VVV), which skyrocketed 1051.2% in just five months — from $1.64 to $18.88. The surge was fueled by lower token emissions, a buyback-and-burn mechanism, and a partnership with OpenClaw, which selected Venice AI as its primary model provider.
The remaining spots were also claimed by projects riding the AI wave. SkyAI (SKYAI) gained 837.9%, rising from $0.037 to $0.35 amid growing interest in the Model Context Protocol trend. Siren (SIREN) jumped 647.3%, driven by its blend of meme culture and AI functionality, along with support from Binance Alpha. DeXe (DEXE) climbed 458.0% after shifting its focus toward AI-powered DAO infrastructure, while Unibase (UB) added 377.9% following the listing of perpetual contracts on OKX.
The contrast between the two periods reflected a broader shift in market behavior. In 2025, volatility was spread across established infrastructure tokens, while by early 2026, it had become concentrated in newer, higher-risk AI assets.