Q1 has been the best worst quarter in the history of cryptography: bitwise

In a Crypto Market review published on April 16, Asset Manager Bitwise described the first 2025 quarter as “the best worst quarter in Crypto’s history.” It was a “frustrating” period for the industry, said the investment director of the firm, Matt Hougan.

Q1 has historically been positive with the first president of the United States Pro-Crypto assuming the position, the creation of a strategic Bitcoin reserve, the SEC leaves the majority of its demands and the end of the war of the Biden era against Crypto.

“Crypto dreamed of these developments for years, and finally everything happened.”

The good, the bad and the ugly

However, markets and feeling did not reflect good fortune. The encryption index of 10 Bitwise captain fell 18%, cryptographic actions fell 27%and Ethereum fell a surprising 45%, he added.

The total market capitalization collapsed almost 20% during the period of three months, since $ 650 billion left space. These losses extended to April, since the markets have currently been reduced by 30% since its January maximum of $ 3.9 billion.

However, they were not all bad news. “Look for things that are reaching new historical maximums when prices have fallen. They are a sign of where the next upward market will come,” Hougan advised.

Look for things that are reaching new historical maximums when prices have fallen. They are a sign of where the next upward market will come.

– Matt Hougan (@matt_hougan) April 16, 2025

Stablecoin’s circulation reached a historical maximum of more than $ 218 billion, 13.5% quarter to quarter, while the volume of transactions also increased by 30%, he said. The current market capitalization of Stablecoin is $ 236 billion, representing about 8.6% of the total cryptography market limit and more than any other asset apart from Bitcoin, according to Coingecko.

In addition, the tokenized assets of the real world “became parabolic” in the first quarter, growing 37% quarter to quarter for a new historical maximum, he added.

Finally, the regulated Bitcoin’s future trade volume and open interest also reached maximum of all time, which suggests that “the institutional interest in cryptography as a macro trade asset is growing,” he said before suggesting that these trends could lead to the highest markets.

“As we advance in the second quarter, I would expect these and related areas to drive the highest market.”

On the ugly side was the Bybit trick of $ 1.5 billion and the outbreak of the meme coins bubble, which caused most of these aimless tokens collapsen.

Key cryptography tail

Bitwise identified several key tail that could reverse the lower three months. After years of hardening, central banks around the world are pointing out a change towards monetary flexibility and M2 expansion. “Historically, these conditions have been favorable for risk assets, particularly for digital assets,” he said.

Regulatory relief and new frames for Stablecoins and Defi in the United States could also be a key catalyst.

Finally, commercial wars, capital controls and fiduciary devaluations are pressing global investors to reevaluate their portfolios, he said.

“In this environment, Bitcoin (such as gold) is increasingly seen as a potential coverage: liquid, scarce and (most important) independent of tariffs, capital controls and currency manipulation.”