Coingecko: In Q1 of this year, the total market capitalization of the crypto market fell by 18.6% to $2.8 trillion, while Bitcoin strengthened its dominant position against the trend

ChainCatcher news, according to the Coingecko quarterly report, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies fell by 18.6% to $2.8 trillion in the first quarter of 2025. Bitcoin further solidified its dominance in the market downturn, with its market share rising to 59.1% (a new high since 2021), while altcoins generally performed poorly. The shares of stablecoins USDT and USDC increased, while Ethereum's market share dropped to a five-year low of 7.9%.

​1. Bitcoin outperforms traditional risk assets

Bitcoin broke through $100,000 in January, reaching an all-time high, but ended the quarter at $82,514 (a decline of 11.8%). Its performance outpaced the Nasdaq index (down 10.3%), but lagged behind gold (up 18%) and U.S. Treasury bonds. Analysts pointed out that the strengthening of the yen and euro, adjustments in monetary policy, and geopolitical uncertainties have intensified market volatility.

​2. Ethereum and altcoins under pressure

Ethereum's price plummeted 45.3% to $1,805, erasing all gains made in 2024, with daily trading volume shrinking to $2.44 billion. Leading altcoins like Solana (SOL), XRP, and BNB experienced smaller pullbacks, highlighting Ethereum's relative weakness. Meme coins suffered a significant setback due to the exit of Argentine President Javier Milei's related project LIBRA, with daily token deployment on the Pump.fun platform dropping by 56.3%.

​3. Changes in exchange landscape

The spot trading volume of centralized exchanges (CEX) decreased by 16.3% to $5.4 trillion, with Binance maintaining a market share of 40.7%; HTX became the only platform in the top ten to see growth (+11.4%), while Bybit's trading volume was halved due to a hacking incident in February. Among decentralized exchanges (DEX), Solana led Q1 with a 39.6% share, but Ethereum briefly reclaimed the top spot in March. The total value locked (TVL) in DeFi fell by 27.5% to $12.86 billion, while the new public chain Berachain's TVL rose against the trend to $5.2 billion.