The first half of 2025 has been a rollercoaster for crypto. From market volatility and geopolitical uncertainty to regulatory shifts and surprising political moves, we have seen a lot. Let’s recap.
How Did the Market Perform?
Bitcoin continued to prove it’s the king of crypto, with its market dominance rising from 56% to 64% between January 1st and June 30th. During the same period, its price increased by 13%, closing H1 above $107,000. The path wasn’t really smooth though as the price dipped to $74K in April, but then reached an all-time high of nearly $112K in May (classic crypto volatility).
One of the key drivers of Bitcoin’s rally relies on institutional investment. Bitcoin ETFs attracted billions of dollars in the market, with total ETF holdings reaching $134 billion, which represents about 6% of Bitcoin’s total market cap, so yeah that’s a big deal.
Altcoins, however, didn’t receive the same love. Ethereum dropped over 25%, struggling to stay above $2.5K, even with increased ETF interest. Solana’s hype cooled off, and its price fell around 17% to $150. And many top altcoins lost nearly 30% of their value YTD.
On another hand, stablecoins turned out to be the rockstars of H1 2025. Their total market cap kept growing, from an initial $204B in January to $252B in June, and with an on-chain volume hitting over $1.39 trillion. Of course, USDT and USDC continue to dominate, but other contenders are stepping in, trying to get a piece of the cake.
Major Events That Shaped the Landscape
Since the beginning of the year, the crypto market has seen many events shaping and influencing it.
Regulations was one of the most important for the ecosystem so far. Europe pushed ahead with the MiCA framework, while nearly 50 countries advanced their CBDC plans. On the other side of the Atlantic ocean, the Trump administration took a decisively pro-crypto approach, passing the GENIUS Act (which the stablecoins are thankful for), launching a Bitcoin strategic reserve, and easing SEC restrictions (which Ripple and new ETFs issuers are thankful for).
Geopolitical tensions also had their impact. The Iran-Israel conflict brought caution to global markets, even though it didn’t shake crypto as much as past conflicts. That may be a sign that investors’ conviction and maturity are strengthening. However, U.S. tariffs did hit the markets hard when the news came out.
Oh, and yes… Trump launched his own memecoin (make of that what you will but that was an unexpected highlight).
Final Thoughts
Bitcoin’s momentum is strong, altcoins’ one is not, stablecoins are thriving, regulators worldwide are redefining the rules for the crypto ecosystem, Wall Street is taking it more and more seriously but global tensions remain.
That was an interesting first half of the year, now let’s see what the second holds for us.
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