Early crypto enthusiasm from January faded as the first quarter of 2025 unfolded into macro-driven uncertainty, with global superpowers locked in an ongoing trade conflict. Amid the turmoil, decentralized finance total value locked — a metric for onchain deposits — declined by $48.9 billion, marking a 27.5% drop, according to a CoinGecko report.
Rather than mass withdrawals, the report attributed the decline to a general downtrend in altcoin prices. Ethereum, the largest altcoin by market cap, fell to $1,800 from $3,336 at the start of the year, erasing all of its 2024 gains. This drop wiped roughly $40 billion from Ethereum’s TVL and reduced its DeFi market share to 56.6% from 63.5%, the Q1 analysis noted.
Solana and memecoins
Solana and Base captured more market share as Ethereum pulled back, although both networks also witnessed similar corrections in user deposits. Again, it was attributed to dips in SOL and ETH. Newly launched Berachain quickly grew to the sixth-largest DeFi chain with $5.2 billion in TVL by the end of March.
As altcoin prices faltered, memecoin sentiment followed suit. CoinGecko reported a 56.3% slump in daily token creation on Pump.fun. The sharp turn occurred after the Libra memecoin saga in mid-February, which involved Argentine President Javier Milei. Libra meme speculators lost $251 million in capital, a Nansen report said. Despite the controversy and renewed memecoin skepticism, Solana’s spot volume across decentralized exchanges outpaced competitors. Solana DEXes represented 39.6% of all trade in 2025’s first quarter, the report stated.
Bitcoin dominance unchallenged by worst quarter since 2018
Data confirmed 2025 Q1 as bitcoin’s worst performance in seven years. BTC lagged behind traditional assets like gold and U.S. Treasuries, which saw investor demand in a rush to safe havens during global economic unease. However, bitcoin’s dominance grew in the cryptocurrency market to 59.1%, signaling confidence in the top digital asset over altcoins.
Overall, the total crypto market and spot trading on centralized exchanges receded as uncertainty and volatility prevailed. Optimism from President Donald Trump’s re-election fizzled out with tariffs and trade wars. Cryptocurrencies retraced from $3.8 trillion on Jan. 18 to $2.8 trillion, a 18.6% fall during the first quarter. Average CEX spot volume crashed 27.3% quarter-over-quarter, and plunged from $200 billion in late 2024 to $146 billion in Q1.
© 2025 The Block. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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