CoinGecko Report Analysis: What Moved Crypto in Q1 2025?

Today, we are analyzing & summarizing CoinGecko’s 2025 Q1 Crypto Industry Report for our readers here at 99Bitcoins.

The crypto market saw unprecedented gains following the 2024 U.S. elections. “What moved Bitcoin & Altcoins” was a question on everyone’s mind. The bullish momentum continued into 2025, pushing Bitcoin to a new all-time high (ATH) of $109,588 on January 20, 2025. However, bullish momentum weakened by the end of Q1 2025, reflecting a shift in broader crypto market trends. The total market cap fell 18.6% during the first quarter, reaching $2.8 trillion by the end of March.

Despite the pullback, the cryptoverse continued to develop, transform, and mature. Bitcoin dominance reached an April 2021 high, and Solana-based decentralized exchanges (DEXs) saw more traction. At the same time, the fading hype around meme coins and a slowdown in decentralized finance (DeFi) activity signaled a broader market shift toward consolidation and stability. However, April saw the broader market recovering at a reasonable speed.

A range of factors shaped Bitcoin’s performance in Q1 2025. Let’s break down the main influences on Bitcoin and altcoins in the first quarter and what they might signal for the remainder of the year according to CoinGecko.

Crypto Market Analysis Q1 2025: Summary

In Q1 2025, the crypto market faced significant volatility, with Bitcoin hitting a new all-time high before retreating, while Ethereum erased all its 2024 gains. Meme coin activity plummeted after the controversial Libra incident, leading to a 56.3% drop in daily token launches on Pump.fun. Meanwhile, Solana dominated on-chain decentralized exchange (DEX) trades, accounting for 39.6% of the market, and multichain DeFi TVL shrank by 27.5%, shedding nearly $49 billion. The crypto market was clearly making its way as the geopolitical tensions unfolded.

Key Takeaways

The crypto market dropped 18.6% in Q1 2025, falling from a YTD high of $3.8T to $2.8T, marking a slowdown after the 2024 bull run.
In Q1 2025, Bitcoin’s dominance grew to 59.1% of the market cap, as altcoins faced challenges and investors leaned towards more stable assets.
Ethereum experienced a sharp drop (in Q1 2025) of -45.3%, falling from $3,336 to $1,805 and wiping out all its gains from 2024.
Meme coins and token launches saw a big drop in Q1 2025. Daily token launches on Pump.fun fell by -56.3% after the controversial Libra incident.
Spot trading on centralized exchanges (CEX) dropped by -16.3% in Q1 2025. Binance remained the leader, but its trading volume fell to $588.7 billion by March.
The total value locked (TVL) in multichain decentralized finance dropped by -27.5% in Q1 2025, losing $48.9 billion. Ethereum saw the biggest decline in its TVL dominance.

Bitcoin & Altcoin Market Analysis Q1 2025

Q1 is over, so why should you care about it? Simple – understanding past trends can help you make smarter moves. History doesn’t always repeat, but it often leaves clues. We spotted several key patterns in Q1 that can guide crypto investors in avoiding losses and making better decisions.

Total Crypto Market Capitalization: Jan-March 2025

The cryptocurrency market saw a significant correction in the first quarter of 2025—a sign of moderation following the late 2024 surge. According to CoinGecko’s Q1 2025 Crypto Industry Report, the total value of the market dropped 18.6%, closing the quarter at $2.8 trillion. The report stated,

“Average daily trading volume in Q1 also plummeted, falling -27.3% Quarter-on-Quarter (QoQ) to $146.0 billion. 2024 Q4 trading volume stood at $200.7 billion.”

Following the broader market decline, Bitcoin’s price fell 11.8% in Q1 2025, yet its market share grew to 59.1%, reinforcing its dominance. This rise in dominance suggested a shift in investor preference toward Bitcoin, seen as a more stable asset compared to riskier altcoins.

Crypto market's performance — Source: CoinGecko

According to DeFiLlama, the total value locked (TVL) across major blockchains saw a slight decline by the end of Q1, indicating that the market was in a holding pattern, waiting for buyers to regain confidence and push out the sellers.

Bitcoin, Altcoins & Stablecoins: Q1 2025 Performance Review

We know that the overall crypto market shrank in Q1 2025. However, each significant asset had a unique narrative to tell. From Bitcoin’s relative stability to Ethereum’s precipitous decline and altcoins’ inconsistent performance, the quarter revealed increasing volatility and the constantly changing investment landscape.

Bitcoin, Altcoins & Stablecoins performance — Source: CoinGecko

Bitcoin’s dominance surged to 59.1% in Q1 2025, its highest level since late 2020, reflecting its role as a relative safe haven amid broader market turmoil. Despite a sharp price drop of more than -11.8% from its YTD peak of 109,588 to $82,514 by quarter-end, Bitcoin still managed to capture a larger share of the overall crypto market.

While it underperformed traditional assets like gold (check out gold price prediction), which gained +18.0%, and lagged behind other safe-haven options like U.S. Treasuries, Bitcoin’s increasing hashrate signaled continued network confidence even in a cooling market.

Ethereum had a tough Q1 2025, with its price dropping 45.3% from $3,336 to $1,805, erasing all its 2024 gains and bringing it back to 2023 levels. It significantly underperformed compared to other major assets like BTC, SOL, XRP, and BNB, which saw smaller declines. Trading volume also took a hit, falling from a daily average of $30 billion in Q4 2024 to $24.4 billion in Q1 2025, with price drops often coinciding with volume spikes.

Amid a market decline, stablecoins’ market cap increased by $24.5 billion in Q1, reaching a new all-time high of $226.1 billion at the end of the quarter.

USDC, which increased its market cap by $16.1 billion, was primarily responsible for the stablecoin market cap growth. USDT and USDS also contributed $6.4 billion and $2.7 billion, respectively. Interestingly, Ethena’s USDe was surpassed by USDS (formerly DAI) after rising by 50.8%, the biggest upswing following a protracted decline since 2022.

Asset	Price Change in Q1 2025	Market Impact	Key Insights
Bitcoin (BTC)	-24.71% (from $109,588 to $82,514)	Increased dominance to 59.1%	Seen as a safe haven, network confidence shown by rising hashrate
Ethereum (ETH)	-45.3% (from $3,336 to $1,805)	Erased 2024 gains, returned to 2023 levels	Underperformed compared to BTC, SOL, XRP, BNB, with declining trading volume
Stablecoins	+$24.5 billion (Total market cap reached $226.1B)	Increased market cap in Q1	USDC contributed the most with +$16.1B growth

Centralized vs. Decentralized Exchanges: A Trend Analysis

The overall market slowdown was reflected in trading activity on both centralized (CEX) and decentralized exchanges (DEX), with changes in user behavior across chains and a decrease in trading volumes. Even amid the broader market decline, centralized exchanges (CEXs) remained crucial for cryptocurrency trading in Q1.

Here are the notable points –

Spot trading volumes reached $5.4 trillion, reflecting a 16.3% drop from the previous quarter, as both institutional and retail participation slowed due to the bearish market conditions and significant price drops in Ethereum and Bitcoin.
Binance held its lead as the top exchange by trading volume, despite facing regulatory challenges in some regions. Meanwhile, competitors like Coinbase and OKX managed to maintain their user bases. Notably, HTX was the only top 10crypto exchange to see growth, with an 11.4% increase in volume, while Upbit experienced the largest decline, with a 34.0% drop.
Looking ahead, CEXs are expected to consolidate as the market shrinks. Larger platforms may strengthen their positions by diversifying services and improving compliance, while smaller exchanges with lower liquidity or limited geographic reach may face increasing pressure.

As far as the DEX landscape was concerned, Solana solidified its dominance. With 39.6% of total on-chain spot trade volume, Solana continued to be the most active Layer 1 blockchain for decentralized exchange (DEX) activities. How so? The popularity of Solana-native meme coins and platforms such as Jupiter and Raydium helped to support this.

Centralized vs. Decentralized Exchanges in Q1 — Source: CoinGecko

Ethereum continued to dominate developer activity even after ETH’s price fell sharply. However, because of heightened competition from more scalable networks, its DEX trade volume decreased marginally to 33.4% in Q1. Coinbase’s Layer 2 solution significantly increased developer interest and user activity because of its effective transaction processing and expanding ecosystem of consumer-focused dApps. Its ascent demonstrates a trend toward Layer 2 acceptance as consumers look for less expensive and quicker alternatives to the Ethereum mainnet.

The use and trade volumes of other significant chains, such as Arbitrum and BNB Chain, decreased in Q1. These changes imply that liquidity was redistributed to platforms providing more creative or economical solutions.

DeFi Landscape of Q1 2025

No crypto report is complete without DeFi. The DeFi landscape saw a sharp decline in TVL in the first quarter of 2025. The multichain TVL fell by $48.9 billion, a 27.5% fall from the previous quarter. In the context of broader market falls, this decline reflects waning investor confidence and capital flight.

Significant outflows occurred from Ethereum, which is still the biggest DeFi chain by TVL, since participation was deterred by high gas prices and falling yields. Although Solana’s active ecosystem kept it somewhat resilient, both Arbitrum and Solana, which had gained traction in late 2024, suffered setbacks.

Most DeFi tokens took a significant hit in Q1, with Uniswap‘s UNI suffering the largest loss at -54.8%. It was followed by AAVE (-48.3%) and HYPE (-46.2%). Notably, HYPE’s drop was linked to the controversy around Hyperliquid’s decision to delist the JELLY token and settle open futures contracts at a fixed price after suspected market manipulation. Read more about Hyperliquid crypto drama.

Capital locked in lending, liquid staking, and yield farming declined as liquidity mining incentives dried up. However, innovation continued, with ongoing testing of cross-chain interoperability tools, modular DeFi components, and restaking protocols, hinting at long-term growth potential. Despite recent challenges, DeFi remains a critical area for crypto innovation, though now with a sharper focus and more cautious optimism.

NFT Market Overview in Q1 2025

Q1 saw a sharp decline in the NFT industry, with trading volumes falling to $1.2 billion – A 65% drop from the previous quarter. A wider downturn in the crypto scene and a decrease in speculative interest could be blamed for this dip.

Some collections, such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, continued to dominate the market despite the general downturn, holding more than 60% of the total value. At the same time, newer projects like Milady and Pudgy Penguins gained traction, reflecting a shift in collector preferences.

Blur remained the largest NFT marketplace with a 40% share, followed by OpenSea at 30% and Magic Eden at 15%. Bitcoin network activity also surged, driven by the rise of Bitcoin Ordinals NFTs, highlighting the expanding landscape beyond just Ethereum.

Despite the challenging Q1 for the NFT market, the continued demand for premium collections and the growth of new platforms hint at potential recovery and long-term growth.

How Did AI Tokens & Meme Coins Perform?

Q1 2025 indicated clearly that investors love artificial intelligence (AI) tokens and that meme coins continue to gain popularity.

Crypto AI coins took center stage, capturing 35.7% of investor interest worldwide. As investors placed bets on the convergence of blockchain and artificial intelligence, large inflows were seen in leading projects such as Render (RNDR), Fetch.ai (FET), and SingularityNET (AGIX). These coins gained momentum primarily due to real-world partnerships and advancements in AI technology, rather than merely speculation. Despite overall market caution, confidence was bolstered by increased developer activity in AI-related protocols, as well as the launch of beta versions of decentralised AI marketplaces and computing networks by several companies.

Meme coins took a major hit in Q1, with Pump.fun—a Solana-based meme token launchpad—seeing a 56.3% drop in daily token deployments after the Libra token crash triggered a brief market panic and tighter oversight of low-cap tokens.

However, meme coins remain popular, capturing 27.1% of investor interest. High-profile releases like the Solana-based $TRUMP and $MELANIA tokens, launched ahead of Donald Trump’s inauguration, quickly reached market caps of over $13 billion each, proving that the meme coin craze was far from over.

Donald Trump’s Influence on Crypto in Q1

President Trump likes to put his name on things, and crypto is no exception. Trump’s increasingly pro-crypto statements significantly influenced the market mood in Q1 2025.

He portrayed digital assets as instruments of financial liberation by publicly opposing CBDCs and supporting cryptocurrency donations. The expectation of a more crypto-friendly regulatory environment under his administration contributed to excitement and market movement, especially for Bitcoin and meme coins with political themes.

Many analysts think the Trump presidency might see Bitcoin consistently making new all-time highs. But many crypto experts oppose this view. If you want to know how crypto holders will be affected in the coming months, read our dedicated article on Impact of Donald Trump’s Presidency on Your Crypto Portfolio.

How Trump Influenced crypto — Source: Euromoney

As the crypto industry expands, so do the global regulatory needs, emphasising anti-money laundering (AML), consumer protection, and countering the funding of terrorism (CFT). Q1 saw quite a few noteworthy developments on the regulatory front:

The EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) framework advanced toward adoption, paving the way for more precise regulations pertaining to service providers and stablecoins.
In the meantime, Hong Kong kept up its aggressive licensing attempts to establish itself as a crypto hub.
In the United States, increasing political attention, particularly from the Trump administration, suggested a more positive future crypto environment.

At the same time, regulators have begun to take notice of AI-integrated crypto initiatives. Unregulated AI tokens will probably come under further scrutiny within the frameworks that currently govern data protection, algorithmic transparency, and financial compliance.

Industry watchers anticipate that the impending introduction of MiCA and related initiatives in Asia may ultimately establish more precise classifications for AI-driven digital assets.

Conclusion

The crypto market had a rough start in 2025, with its total value dropping nearly 19% in the first quarter. Trading activity slowed, DeFi platforms saw their locked value plummet, and spot volumes on centralized exchanges fell sharply. Meme coins and risky tokens were hit hard, especially after the Pump.fun platform incident. Despite this, Solana remained a leader in decentralized trading, and Bitcoin held up better than most digital assets.

The market remains uncertain, looking ahead to Q2 2025. Investors are watching for changes in interest rates, new EU regulations like MiCA, and broader economic trends. While challenges persist, strong fundamentals and ongoing innovation could help the industry bounce back in the coming months.