Crypto Market Sheds $633.5 Billion in Q1 2025 Amid Recession Jitters and Investor Caution

The crypto market took a serious hit in the first quarter of 2025, losing over $633 billion in market value—a drop of 18.6%, according to CoinGecko. This decline has been largely attributed to ongoing fears of a global recession, tightening economic conditions, and the ripple effects of high-profile incidents like the Bybit hack. Daily trading volumes also suffered, falling by 27.3% to an average of $146 billion, marking the third consecutive month of decreased activity.

Although January started on a high note with optimism fueled by political events like Trump’s inauguration, that momentum quickly faded. Bitcoin held its dominance at 59.1% but still dropped 11.8% in value during the quarter. Meanwhile, Ethereum saw its lowest market dominance since 2019, falling to 7.9%. Stablecoins offered a rare bright spot—Tether increased its share, and USDC climbed back into the top seven by overtaking Dogecoin.

DeFi wasn’t spared either, as total value locked (TVL) across blockchains dropped 27.5%, largely due to the weakening prices of altcoins. Ethereum’s DeFi dominance slipped significantly, while newcomers like Berachain made waves, pulling in $5.2 billion in TVL just weeks after launch. Despite a generally weak quarter, platforms like Solana and Base managed to gain some ground in the DeFi space.

Solana also led early in decentralized exchange (DEX) activity, holding 52% of top blockchain trades in January, boosted by the $TRUMP memecoin frenzy. However, that hype faded fast, and Ethereum reclaimed its DEX crown by March. On the macro side, gold emerged as Q1’s top-performing asset, rising 18%, while stocks and crypto both dipped. Global currency dynamics also shifted, with the Yen and Euro gaining strength as the U.S. dollar faltered amid geopolitical tensions and monetary policy shifts.

Source: Naira metrics