Catenaa, Tuesday, April 15, 2025-Global crypto trading volumes plunged 40.65% in the first quarter of 2025, marking the steepest quarterly decline in over two years, according to CoinMarketCap’s Q1 report released April 9. Market sentiment also fell to its lowest point since early 2023, despite Bitcoin (BTC) hovering near all-time highs.
The report cites multiple drivers behind the downturn: underperformance by BTC and Ethereum (ETH), declining ETF momentum, waning retail activity, and persistent macroeconomic uncertainty.
BTC ended Q1 down 10.52%, breaking its winning streak from Q1 2023 and 2024. Ethereum fared worse, posting a 43.85% drop—its worst quarterly performance since 2018. Meanwhile, 55 of the top 100 cryptocurrencies recorded year-to-date losses, with meme coins making up nine of the top 20 biggest losers.
The report highlights a shift from speculative hype back to fundamentals, with renewed interest in Layer 1s like Solana and BNB Chain, as well as DeFi projects.
However, total value locked in DeFi fell from $118 billion in January to $92.9 billion in March, signaling continued investor caution.
Despite this downturn, stablecoins offered a bright spot, with market capitalization growing 8.6% year-to-date.
Notably, market sentiment remained disproportionately negative even as BTC approached $80,000. The market failed to enter “Neutral” or “Greed” zones at any point in Q1, underscoring persistent trader unease.
CMC analysts suggest a potential Q2 rebound, contingent on macro catalysts such as interest rate cuts or regulatory clarity on Ethereum ETFs and L2 scaling.
