Q2 2025 Crypto Market Report: Total market capitalization rebounds by 24%, emerging trading methods come to the fore

In the second quarter of 2025, the crypto market experienced a rebound. After a difficult start, the total market capitalization soared by 24.0%, recovering $663.6 billion, and ended the quarter with a market capitalization of $3.5 trillion, nearly reaching the early-year high. However, the situation behind this recovery is relatively complex.

Despite Bitcoin's price once again breaking the $100,000 barrier and a certain payment company's IPO reigniting investment enthusiasm, spot trading volume has declined for the second consecutive quarter. A large influx of funds into Bitcoin has pushed its market dominance above 62%, while other encryption currencies are struggling to regain momentum. Ethereum has performed outstandingly among altcoins, with significant quarterly gains, but it is still below the opening price at the beginning of the year.

At the same time, trading behavior is undergoing a transformation. The spot and perpetual contract trading volume of the decentralized exchange (DEX) has reached an all-time high, with certain platforms standing out in their respective fields. As the trading volume of centralized exchanges (CEX) declines, traders are increasingly turning to DEX, indicating that the way cryptocurrency trading is conducted is experiencing a broader change.

This quarterly report covers everything from the crypto market landscape to an analysis of Bitcoin and Ethereum, delving into the DeFi and NFT ecosystems, and reviewing the performance of CEX and DEX. Here are the seven highlights of the report:

1. In the second quarter of 2025, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies rebounded by 24.0%, reaching $3.5 trillion, close to the year's peak.
2. Bitcoin rebounded to over $100,000 this quarter, setting a new all-time high, with its market capitalization share in the crypto market rising to 62.1%.
3. The price of Ethereum rose from $1805 to $2488, but is still below the opening price of $3337 at the beginning of 2025.
4. The first major IPO of cryptocurrency in 2025 received 25 times oversubscription, with its stock price reaching a maximum of $299, an increase of 864.5% compared to the issue price.
5. Despite the market rebound, the spot trading volume of CEX in the second quarter of 2025 decreased by 27.7% quarter-on-quarter, reaching $3.9 trillion.
6. In contrast, the spot trading volume of DEX increased by 25.3% month-on-month, setting a historical high for DEX:CEX.
7. In the second quarter of 2025, the trading volume of perpetual contracts on DEX also reached a historic high of 898 billion dollars.

1. The total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies rebounded by 24%, reaching $3.5 trillion

In the second quarter, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies rebounded to $663.6 billion, an increase of 24.0%, ending the quarter at $3.5 trillion. This comes after an 18.6% decline in the first quarter, and this rebound marks a complete turnaround for the market, returning to near the highs of the year.

Despite the recovery in the market, the average daily trading volume continues to decline, falling by 26.2% month-on-month to $107.8 billion. This marks the second consecutive quarter of shrinking spot trading activity. The trading volume for the first quarter of 2025 was $146 billion.

2. Bitcoin's dominance rises to 62.1%

In the second quarter of 2025, Bitcoin's dominance continued to rise, increasing by 3 percentage points from the previous quarter and by 7.6 percentage points year-to-date. With funds continuing to flow into Bitcoin rather than other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin's dominance at the end of this quarter reached 62.1%.

Meanwhile, Ethereum rose slightly by 0.8 percentage points to 8.8%, recovering slightly from a multi-year low in the first quarter. Among the top seven cryptocurrencies, Ethereum is the only non-Bitcoin asset that has seen an increase in market capitalization. The market share of stablecoins and other large cryptocurrencies has slightly declined.

The market share of the "Other" category has decreased by 2.0 percentage points to 13.7%, highlighting the ongoing weakness in the small encryption market.

3. Ethereum price rises but still below the beginning of the year

ETH closed at $2488 at the end of the second quarter of 2025, up 36.4% from the beginning of the quarter. Its performance surpassed other mainstream cryptocurrencies such as BTC, SOL, XRP, and BNB. However, it has not yet reached the opening price of $3337 at the beginning of 2025.

Although ETH showed bullish momentum in the second quarter, its trading volume decreased from an average of $24.4 billion per day in the first quarter of 2025 to an average of $19.5 billion per day. Despite institutional investors continuing to accumulate, this phenomenon may suggest that large transactions are being conducted through over-the-counter brokers.

The average Gas cost in the second quarter continued to decline, dropping to an average of 3.5 Gwei per day, lower than the 6.9 Gwei in the first quarter. However, the average daily number of transactions in the second quarter increased to 1.3 million, higher than the 1.2 million in the first quarter.

4. Major IPO of Cryptocurrency Sparks Listing Frenzy

On June 5, 2025, a payment company went public on the New York Stock Exchange, causing a huge sensation among cryptocurrency companies seeking to list in the United States. Despite initial concerns about its valuation, the listing achieved great success, with an oversubscription of more than 25 times.

The company's stock price fluctuated dramatically after its IPO. Although the issue price was $31 per share, the closing price on the first day reached $83.23. In the following days, its stock price more than doubled, hitting a historic high of $298.99 on June 23, representing an increase of 864.5% from the issue price.

The success of this IPO has raised people's expectations for other rumored upcoming listed encryption companies.

5. CEX spot trading volume decreased by 27.7%

In the second quarter of 2025, the spot trading volume of leading CEXs was $3.9 trillion, a decrease of 27.7% from $5.4 trillion in the first quarter.

A leading exchange remains the dominant player in the spot CEX, maintaining a market share of 37% to 39% throughout the quarter. However, its trading volume was below $500 billion in both April and June. Despite a bullish market in the second quarter, with Bitcoin breaking its historical high in May, the situation remains the same.

MEXC, HTX, and Bitget are the only exchanges that experienced quarter-on-quarter growth, with increases of 3.7%, 5.4%, and 3.0%, respectively. Notably, MEXC and HTX now rank second and third, replacing positions previously held by other platforms.

At the same time, a certain exchange experienced the largest month-on-month drop, decreasing from $560.2 billion in the first quarter to $216.4 billion in the second quarter, a decline of 61.4%. After holding the second position in the first two quarters, it has now become the eighth largest exchange.

6. DEX Spot Trading Volume Increased by 25.3%

In the second quarter of 2025, the total spot trading volume of the top ten DEXs reached $876.3 billion, an increase of 25.3% compared to the $699.2 billion in the first quarter. With the significant growth in trading volume, the ratio of DEX to CEX spot trading volume rose from 0.13 in the first quarter to 0.23 in the second quarter, setting a new historical high.

A certain DEX is the platform with the largest quarter-on-quarter growth, increasing from $61.4 billion in the first quarter of 2025 to $392.6 billion in the second quarter, a growth rate of 539.2%. It has now become the largest DEX, accounting for 45% of all trades in the second quarter. This is mainly attributed to the new features launched in May, which facilitate trading through the platform. This has also made a certain public chain the most popular chain in DEX trading, surpassing Ethereum, Base, and Solana.

DEXs on the Solana platform, such as Orca, Meteora, and Raydium, have all seen declines, with quarter-on-quarter decreases of 40.5%, 56.8%, and 73.4%, respectively. As market attention shifted away from Solana and meme coins in the second quarter, trading volumes flowed to other chains.

7. DEX perpetual contract trading volume reaches new highs

In the second quarter of 2025, a certain DEX's dominant position among the top ten perpetual DEXs continued to strengthen, with a market capitalization share reaching 72.7%. Its trading volume reached $653.2 billion, ranking eighth among both centralized and decentralized exchanges.

Among the top ten, only a few DEXs saw an increase in trading volume. In particular, a certain platform doubled its trading volume month-on-month after launching new features.

A certain platform that once led the development of perpetual DEX has seen a continuous decline in trading volume. In the second quarter, its average monthly trading volume was $5.3 billion, only half of that in January 2025.