CoinGeckoThe first three months of the year marked a decisive transition from a sharp correction to a full-blown “crypto winter”; The total market value contracted by 20.4 percent (or $622 billion) and closed March at $2.4 trillion. CoinGecko This leaves the asset class about 45 percent below its all-time high since October 2025, he noted.
research report It was also stated that the downward trend, which has been continuing since the end of last year, has become even stronger following geopolitical tensions and the hawkish turn in the US monetary policy. Kevin Warsh like Federal Reserve Chair.
The average daily transaction volume in the market also decreased by 27.2 percent compared to the previous quarter, falling to 117.8 billion dollars.
Despite a wider crisis, stablecoins It has demonstrated remarkable resilience, serving as a liquidity anchor amid turmoil.
Aggregate market capitalizations rose a modest 0.5 percent to $309.9 billion.
of Tether USDTHowever, it reported its first meaningful supply contraction since the second quarter of 2022, falling 1.6 percent to $184.1 billion and maintaining its dominant share of 59 percent.
In contrast, Circle’s US Dollar It increased by 2.4 percent to 77.1 billion dollars.
New entrants such as Sky’s USDS and WLFI’s USD1 recorded double-digit gains (30.8 percent and 32.5 percent respectively) thanks to innovative launches and promotional campaigns. Ethena’s USDe dropped sharply to just 6.6 percent.
Traditional commodities significantly outperformed digital assets during the quarter. Crude oil rose an eye-popping 76.9 percent, driven by supply disruptions resulting from the escalating US-Iran conflict.
Gold It continued its upward trend with an increase of 8.1 percent, supported by the central bank’s purchases and safe haven appeal.
But Bitcoin underperformed even broader equity markets, falling 22 percent; the Nasdaq It fell 7.1 percent and the S&P 500 fell 4.8 percent, its weakest quarterly performance since 2022.
The US Dollar Index rose 1.4 percent as investors sought security.
Trade activity reflected a risk-averse environment. Spot volume on the top ten centralized exchanges fell 39.1 percent in the quarter to $2.7 trillion.
A dismal $0.8 trillion was recorded in March; this was the lowest monthly total since November 2023.
Binance MEXC, which maintained its leadership with a 37 percent share, was the only other platform with a share above 10 percent. All major CEXs experienced sharp declines.
In decentralized exchanges, solana Despite a 26.5 percent decrease in its own volume, it maintained its title as the leading chain in spot trading with a quarterly dominance of 30.6 percent.
Ethereum It briefly surpassed that in March (26 percent vs. 27 percent), while BNB Chain came in second overall with 24.5 percent. Emerging player Monad has climbed into the top ten chains as its mainnet activity gains traction.
A notable bright spot has emerged in perpetual futures trading on decentralized platforms. Since then hyperfluid Activated in December 2025 through the HIP-3 offering, perpetual commodity contracts have exploded in popularity and currently represent approximately 30 percent of the exchange’s total open interest.
Demand for 24/7 oil trading increased Middle East tensions; On April 9, the daily volume of builder tradeXYZ’s two crude oil perpetuals exceeded $4 billion; This surpassed Bitcoin’s activity on the platform for the first time.
CoinGecko report It highlights an industry that is maturing but facing challenges. While macro volatility and geopolitics weigh heavily, there are pockets of innovation, particularly in stablecoins and decentralized currencies. derivatives– continue to improve.
