Bitcoin Leads Crypto Market in Q1 2025 as Altcoins & Eth Decline

The crypto market faced serious turbulence in the first quarter of 2025, according to a new study by Coingecko. Market capitalization dropped 18.6% to $2.8 trillion, wiping out over $630 billion in value.

Despite the slump, Bitcoin managed to hold its ground. It ended the quarter at $82,514, down 11.8% from its all-time high earlier in January, but still outpacing most other digital assets and traditional risk markets. The asset’s market dominance rose to 59.1%, a level not seen since 2021.

Ethereum and altcoins, on the other hand, didn’t fare as well.

Ethereum Hits Five-Year Market Share Low

Ethereum lost 45.3% of its value in Q1, closing at $1,805. According to Coingecko, this downturn erased all of ETH’s gains from 2024, with its market share dropping to 7.9%—its lowest level in five years.

The broader altcoin space saw mixed results. Tokens like Solana (SOL), XRP, and BNB experienced smaller pullbacks, but none managed to hold momentum. Trading volumes reflected the sentiment, with Ethereum’s daily volume slipping to $24.4 billion and growing weaker on days of heavy selloffs.

Meme Coins Crash After Political Token Fallout

The meme coin category, which had been gaining steam thanks to political tokens like TRUMP and MELANIA, faced a major reversal. The LIBRA rug-pull incident, allegedly connected to a project tied to Argentine President Javier Milei, triggered a confidence crisis.

As a result, daily meme coin token deployments on Pump.fun dropped 56.3%—from 72,000 at the beginning of the quarter to just 31,000 by the end.

Trading Activity Cools Off on Centralized Exchanges

Trading volumes on centralized exchanges also declined. Spot volumes fell 16.3% to $5.4 trillion, showing traders were more cautious as prices became volatile.

Binance retained its top spot with a 40.7% market share, despite a weaker March. Notably:

HTX was the only top-10 exchange to post growth (11.4% increase).
Bybit’s volume halved after a security breach in February.

This shift points to waning enthusiasm among retail traders, likely in response to the broader market uncertainty.

Solana Takes DEX Crown as DeFi TVL Slides

In the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, Solana emerged as the leader in decentralized exchange (DEX) trading with a 39.6% share of Q1 activity. Although Ethereum briefly reclaimed the top spot in March, Solana’s performance indicated a shift in developer and trader preference.

Still, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi protocols across all chains fell by 27.5% to $128.6 billion. Ethereum’s share of TVL dropped to 56.6%, while a rising star—Berachain—saw its TVL rise to $5.2 billion, hinting at early-stage adoption.

Bitcoin’s Relative Strength: What It Means

Bitcoin’s resilience is worth noting. It didn’t just outperform altcoins—it also edged out risk assets like the Nasdaq, which declined 10.3% over the same period. However, it still lagged behind traditional safe havens:

Gold was up 18% during Q1, benefiting from the global flight to safety.
U.S. Treasuries also saw gains amid monetary policy shifts and economic tension.

A stronger euro and yen also played a role in Bitcoin’s late-quarter performance, as currency market movements pushed global investors toward more conservative assets.

What to Watch Next

The Coingecko report suggests a few key trends heading into Q2 2025:

Bitcoin dominance could continue climbing if altcoins remain volatile and institutional interest leans into ETF-backed BTC products.
Ethereum’s underperformance raises questions about whether upcoming tech upgrades or regulatory clarity can restore momentum.
New DeFi protocols like Berachain could take a larger role in the ecosystem if TVL continues to shift.
Meme coin mania appears to be cooling, though the market has shown a tendency to bounce back quickly in speculative cycles.

Final Word

Bitcoin is proving itself, once again, to be the digital asset market’s anchor. While it hasn’t outperformed gold or Treasuries in Q1, its ability to weather the storm compared to other cryptocurrencies shows its maturing role as a store of value.

Altcoins, especially Ethereum, now face the challenge of rebuilding investor confidence. Until then, Bitcoin’s dominance is likely to remain the headline story moving forward.

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