The global cryptocurrency market has lost 26.6% in terms of market capitalization in May as values of several cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin (BTC) eroded, but there were several coins that bucked the trend.

What Happened: The top gainer in May was the meme coin Shiba Inu (SHIB), which appreciated 433.27% in the month, followed by Telcoin (TEL) which soared 187.71%.

In a 24-hour period, SHIB traded 20.02% higher at $0.000009342 at press time, while TEL was up 13.22% at $0.032.

Other notable gainers included Polygon (MATIC) and Ethereum Classic (ETC), both of which spiked 148.4% and 60.35% respectively in May. At press time, MATIC traded 4.75% higher at $1.92 and ETC traded 8.3% higher at $69.23 in a 24-hour period.

Notable gains were also made by Cardano (ADA) and Celsius (CEL) which ran up 30.98% and 15.63% respectively in the month.

ADA, the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization traded 10.88% higher at $1.75 at press time, while CEL was up 3.81% at $7.26 in a 24-hour period.

The top two cryptocurrencies by market capitalization, BTC and Ethereum (ETH) declined 35.03% and 9.41% last month. 

At press time, over a 24-hour period, BTC traded 7.12% higher at $37,090.41. ETH traded 15.26% higher at $2,688.35.

Dogecoin (DOGE) was not spared in May and declined 12.26%. The Shiba Inu-themed coin was up 13.85% at $0.34 in a 24-hour period leading up to press time.

Why It Matters: Last month, Bitcoin witnessed a major crash. Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ: TSLA) decision to stop accepting the apex cryptocurrency was one of the precipitating factors for the decline in cryptocurrency valuations during May.

SHIB and other dog-themed coins enjoyed the limelight last month as potential Dogecoin killers. Some of these coins in an effort to shed the huge amounts of circulating coins passed them on to Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, who in turn donated them or burned them.

Another trend that emerged was the appreciation in the prices of Ethereum and Bitcoin look-alikes that struck massive gains at the beginning of the month. Chief among them was ETC, but others that gained included Bitcoin Diamond (BCD) and Bitcoin Gold (BTG).

The high network or gas fees on Ethereum blockchain coupled with congestion propelled Polygon (MATIC), a network that hopes to resolve both issues. 

ADA saw traction in May after Musk said he was looking at other environmentally-friendly cryptocurrencies to replace Bitcoin for payments. Cardano pitched its case directly to Musk via Twitter.

TEL ripped through the roof in early May as it was listed on a decentralized exchange operating on MATIC. The remittance-oriented project linked with TEL also announced a new funds transfer service between Canada and the Philippines.