The Cryptocurrency Market: A Review of the First Quarter of 2025
Introduction
The first quarter of 2025 has been marked by a significant decline in the value of Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). In this article, we will examine the factors that contributed to this decline and the impact it has had on the cryptocurrency market.
Bitcoin’s Worst Q1 Since 2018
Bitcoin’s performance in the first quarter of 2025 has been its worst since 2018. According to data from CoinGlass, a crypto futures trading and information platform, Q1 2025 was the worst quarter for BTC and ETH since 2018. On a monthly basis, March witnessed the highest losses BTC and ETH have seen since 2020.
Bitcoin’s decline was fueled by several factors, including macroeconomic uncertainty and the failure of Trump’s administration to make any substantial policy shifts to sustain the market’s bullish momentum. As a result, BTC fell as low as $76,700 within the last 30 days, and the past week has seen the asset trade in a tight range capped at the $89,000 resistance level.
Q1 2025 closed with an 11.82% decline for BTC, a significant deviation from the asset’s average 51.28% gain observed across past years dating back to 2013. The last time BTC saw such negative quarterly returns was in 2020, when it fell 10.83%; however, a much worse plunge of 49.7% was recorded in 2018.
For the month of March, BTC recorded negative returns for the first time in four years – the asset lost 2.3% of its value. Bitcoin has not seen a negative March since 2020. So far this year, only January has posted positive returns; February ended with a 17.39% decline.
ETH, Altcoins Worse Than BTC
Ethereum’s performance in the first quarter of 2025 has been even worse than Bitcoin’s. The asset plummeted by a whopping 45.41%, posting monthly negative returns of 18.69% in March. Notably, ETH has recorded negative returns consistently for the past three months, with the worst seen in February (31.9%).
Unlike BTC, ETH has posted only one negative first quarter since 2018 – in 2022, when its returns were -10.75%. Every other quarter since Q1 2018, when ETH closed with -46.61%, has been positive. The recent negative quarterly close can be attributed to ether’s underperformance in this bull cycle and over the past few months.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the first quarter of 2025 has been marked by a significant decline in the value of Bitcoin and Ethereum, with the assets experiencing their worst quarterly performance since 2018. The decline was fueled by macroeconomic uncertainty and the failure of Trump’s administration to make any substantial policy shifts to sustain the market’s bullish momentum.
FAQs
Q: What was the worst quarterly performance for Bitcoin and Ethereum since 2018?
A: Q1 2025 was the worst quarter for BTC and ETH since 2018, with an 11.82% decline for BTC and a 45.41% decline for ETH.
Q: What were the main factors that contributed to the decline in the value of Bitcoin and Ethereum?
A: Macroeconomic uncertainty and the failure of Trump’s administration to make any substantial policy shifts to sustain the market’s bullish momentum were the main factors that contributed to the decline in the value of Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Q: What is the impact of the decline in the value of Bitcoin and Ethereum on the cryptocurrency market?
A: The decline in the value of Bitcoin and Ethereum has had a significant impact on the cryptocurrency market, with many altcoins experiencing even greater declines in value.
