Analyzing the Cryptocurrency Markets Performance in H1 2025: Insights from Binance Research

The analytical team at the cryptocurrency exchange Binance has released a comprehensive 145-page [report](https://www.binance.com/en/research/analysis/half-year-report-2025) assessing the digital asset market during the first half of 2025. The document provides an in-depth examination of macroeconomic influences, the evolution of specific ecosystems, and key industry trends.

After a remarkable surge of 96.2% in 2024, the cryptocurrency market experienced a modest 1.99% increase in the first half of 2025. This tempered growth can be attributed to a correction in the first quarter (-18.61%) followed by a recovery in the second (+25.32%).

The global economy in the first half of the year was characterized by a «great divergence.» Major players opted for different monetary policies, leading to a volatile environment for crypto assets.

The United States saw a gradual slowdown in the first quarter, accompanied by an unexpected decrease in inflation. Meanwhile, China outperformed expectations with a GDP growth of 5.4% year-on-year in the first quarter, highlighting the positive impacts of stimulus measures.

A brief yet intense trade conflict between the U.S. and China [spiked](https://forklog.com/news/mnenie-kriptorynok-zatailsya-na-fone-geopoliticheskoj-borby-ssha-i-kitaya) tariffs to 145% in April before they [dropped](https://forklog.com/news/bitkoin-protestiroval-105-000-na-fone-torgovoj-sdelki-ssha-i-kitaya) again. On April 2, the U.S. announced comprehensive reciprocal tariffs of up to 34% on Chinese goods. Between April 4 and 11, both sides escalated tariffs to unprecedented levels through rapid retaliatory measures.

The Eurozone recorded GDP growth for the third consecutive quarter, driven by consumer spending and investments. Japan rebounded from a prior contraction but faced weak domestic demand.

Initially, global liquidity tightened before easing. The Federal Reserve halted its balance sheet contraction, providing support for risk assets. The combined money supply in the U.S., China, the EU, and Japan surged by $5.5 trillion—marking the largest six-month increase in four years.

Bitcoin showed resilience amid global volatility, achieving a 13% gain since the beginning of the year, outperforming most traditional assets.

Binance analysts view Bitcoin’s price cycle as a leading indicator of the global manufacturing cycle, suggesting potential opportunities in the latter half of 2025.

Bitcoin’s market capitalization remained above $2 trillion for most of the semester, making it the sixth-largest asset globally—trailing Amazon and ahead of Google, Meta, and silver.

Bitcoin’s dominance increased to 65.1% in June, a peak not seen in over four years.

*“Capital is flowing into Bitcoin at a faster pace than into the rest of the crypto market, reflecting accumulation by long-term investors and growing integration with traditional finance,”* the report states.

Bitcoin ETFs became a significant structural driver, with a total net inflow exceeding $13.7 billion since the start of the year. BlackRock’s IBIT leads by capturing most new investments, while Grayscale’s GBTC continues to lose assets due to high fees.

More than 140 public companies hold 848,100 BTC compared to 325,400 a year earlier. Strategy maintains a leading position with over 70.4% of total reserves. Since the start of the year, over 50 new companies have disclosed Bitcoin allocations, adding 245,300 BTC.

Record highs have reignited corporate interest in Bitcoin. Amid inflationary pressures and geopolitical tensions, it is seen both as a hedge and a means of capital efficiency.

Regulatory clarity is also improving. U.S. policymakers signal a softer stance, making Bitcoin reserves more appealing from an assessment standpoint.

Scaling solutions for the leading cryptocurrency have made notable advancements. The total value locked (TVL) in Bitcoin (BTCFi) has surged by over 550% year-on-year, reaching $6.5 billion.

[Ordinals and BRC-20 tokens](https://forklog.com/cryptorium/chto-takoe-ordinals-i-tokeny-brc-20) faced declining speculative activity. Daily transaction volumes fell to between 300,000 and 375,000—a low not seen in 18 months. This is less than half of the over 700,000 daily transactions recorded at the peak of the “Ordinals mania” last summer.

The second-largest cryptocurrency showed mixed results. ETH’s price dropped 26% since the beginning of the year, underperforming compared to other digital assets and the broader market. The ETH/BTC ratio fell to multi-year lows at around 0.023.

Meanwhile, the institutional profile of Ethereum has changed significantly. Spot ETH ETFs experienced a 19-day streak of inflows from May to June—a record with more than $1.3 billion added during this period. Over the year, net inflows exceeded $1.5 billion, primarily driven by BlackRock.

The ecosystem of [L2 solutions](https://forklog.com/cryptorium/chto-takoe-resheniya-masshtabirovaniya-vtorogo-urovnya) for Ethereum showed signs of market saturation and diverging growth trajectories. [Optimistic Rollups](https://forklog.com/cryptorium/chto-takoe-tehnologiya-rollapov-rollups-i-kak-ona-pomogaet-masshtabirovat-ethereum) maintained leadership in liquidity and user share, while Base and Arbitrum distinguished themselves with steady fee generation. ZK Rollups achieved real technical successes in reducing proof costs but still lag behind in TVL and user retention.

Fragmentation and mixed progress toward [Stage 2](https://forklog.com/exclusive/buterin-protiv-koles-kak-dolzhny-vyglyadet-resheniya-masshtabirovaniya-v-2025-godu) keep the long-term outlook of Ethereum’s rollup-centric roadmap in suspense.

Despite price pressures, Ethereum has retained its dominance. The protocol attracted institutional investments, successfully executed the [Pectra](https://forklog.com/exclusive/apgrejd-pectra-na-puti-k-masshtabirovaniyu-i-massovomu-prinyatiyu-ethereum) upgrade, and leads in developer activity.

Solana maintained high transaction throughput and improved network reliability ahead of the launch of [Firedancer](https://forklog.com/news/solana-otprazdnovala-pyatiletie-ot-covid-19-do-kriptorezerva-ssha). Institutional interest in the protocol has [increased](https://forklog.com/news/cme-zapustit-fyuchersy-na-solana).

BNB Chain recorded unprecedented activity on decentralized exchanges. The ecosystem expanded into meme coins, tokenized real-world assets ([RWA](https://forklog.com/cryptorium/chto-takoe-rwa-real-world-assets)), and AI applications. The protocol underwent updates [Pascal](https://forklog.com/news/komanda-bnb-chain-razvernula-v-mejnnete-obnovlenie-pascal) and [Maxwell](https://forklog.com/news/obnovlenie-bnb-chain-sokratilo-mezhblochnyj-interval-do-0-75-sekundy).

Avalanche [accelerated](https://forklog.com/news/fifa-zapustit-blokchejn-na-avalanche) the adoption of corporate subnetworks, while Sui more than doubled its DeFi TVL. TRON strengthened its position as a key network for stablecoins, and TON deepened its integration with the Telegram messenger.

The total value locked in the DeFi sector remained stable at $151.5 billion—a mere 5.8% decline since the start of the year. User engagement, however, surged significantly. The number of monthly active addresses in decentralized protocols exceeded 340 million—representing a 240% increase compared to the previous year.

Analysts believe that the rapid growth of users amidst a cooling altcoin market signals DeFi’s emergence beyond speculative bubbles. The market displayed specialization among the three leading blockchains:

[Restaking](https://forklog.com/cryptorium/chto-takoe-restejking-i-kak-na-nem-zarabotat) has become a vital segment of the ecosystem. The EigenLayer protocol, with a TVL of over $11 billion by the end, has created a Security-as-a-Service market, significantly enhancing Ethereum’s capital efficiency.

The total market capitalization of stablecoins surpassed the previous peak of $174 billion before the [collapse of Terra](https://forklog.com/exclusive/spiral-smerti-terra-kak-i-pochemu-luna-i-ust-poterpeli-krah) in 2022. The ~22% increase in the first half of the year to over $250 billion reflects renewed trust in the crypto market and accelerating mass adoption.

Tether (USDT) maintained its dominance with a market cap of $153–156 billion, driven by its first-mover advantage and deep integration in trading platforms. USDT remains a quoting currency on many exchanges, especially in Asia.

The supply of USDC grew from ~$42 billion at the end of 2024 to $61–62 billion by June, raising its market share from ~20% to ~25.5%, making it the fastest-growing among major stablecoins in the first half of the year.

Circle, the issuer of USDC, became the first stablecoin company to achieve a [listing](https://forklog.com/news/smi-emitenta-stejblkoina-usdc-po-itogam-ipo-otsenili-v-6-9-mlrd) in the U.S. through an IPO on June 5 on the NYSE. Shares soared from $31 to $200 on the first day of trading—one of the most successful fintech IPOs in recent years.

On July 19, U.S. President Donald Trump [signed](https://forklog.com/news/donald-tramp-podpisal-zakon-o-stejblkoinah) the GENIUS Act, establishing a federal framework for the regulation of stablecoins. The document mandates full backing of stablecoins with liquid assets and annual audits of issuers with a market capitalization over $50 billion.

*“We will maintain the dollar’s status as the world’s dominant reserve currency—using stablecoins to do so,”* analysts at Binance Research quote U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessen.

The EU has fully implemented MiCA regulation. Asia displayed diverging approaches: Hong Kong actively [positions](https://forklog.com/news/aktsii-kriptokompanij-gonkonga-vyrosli-na-fone-pozitiva-v-regulirovanii) itself as an innovation hub with the launch of stablecoin issuer licenses, while Singapore [shifted](https://forklog.com/news/regulyator-singapura-ogranichit-rabotu-kriptofirm-za-rubezhom) to strict regulation.

Binance Research identified ten key themes:

[The full report](https://public.bnbstatic.com/static/files/research/half-year-report-2025.pdf)

Binance Research is available for free download and contains a detailed analysis of all the mentioned trends along with charts and additional data.

As a reminder, in July, Binance [reached](https://forklog.com/news/binance-otmetila-vosmiletie-s-280-mln-polzovatelej) 280 million registered users as it celebrated its eighth anniversary. Throughout its operation, the total trading volume across the platform’s spot and derivatives markets exceeded $125 trillion.