Bitcoin Carried Crypto Markets in 2025's First Half as Altcoins Crumbled. What's Next?

On the surface, the crypto marketplace hardly moved successful the archetypal fractional of 2025.

Despite each the tantrum astir tariffs, impending recession, war, and heightened expectations of crypto affable policies and a integer plus strategical reserve with Donald Trump's instrumentality to the White House, the full marketplace capitalization of cryptocurrencies, measured by TradingView, inched up a measly 3% to $3.27 trillion implicit the past six months.

Looking closer, the show was starkly uneven, with bitcoin BTC holding up the remainder of the market.

BTC climbed 13% successful the archetypal six months of 2025, continuing to outshine the broader market. Meanwhile, Ethereum's ether ETH, the second-largest crypto asset, tumbled 25%, and Solana SOL shed astir 17%.

Smaller and riskier tokens endured adjacent sharper losses: the OTHERS scale connected TradingView, which excludes the 10 largest assets by marketplace cap, plunged 30%.

What's next?

Despite the humble commencement to the year, immoderate analysts spot country for renewed upside. Joel Kruger, marketplace strategist astatine LMAX Group, noted that July has historically been a beardown period for crypto, averaging 7.56% returns since 2013.

“We participate a play that has traditionally delivered stronger returns,” said Kruger. “With the 2nd fractional of the twelvemonth historically producing outsized gains, the broader setup remains encouraging.”

Kruger besides highlighted that the crypto treasury strategy inclination is progressively expanding beyond bitcoin, with firms announcing plans to accumulate integer assets similar ETH.

Coinbase analysts besides maintained a affirmative outlook for crypto done the 2nd fractional of the year, driven by favorable macroeconomic backdrop, imaginable complaint cuts by the Federal Reserve and expanding regulatory clarity successful the U.S. with lawmakers advancing authorities for stablecoins and the broader crypto marketplace structure.

Still, the adjacent mates months could beryllium lackluster, Bitfinex analysts warned. The adjacent quarter-year starting with July has been historically the weakest for bitcoin, averaging lone 6% gains since 2013, they said successful a Monday report.

"This is besides wherever mean volatility is subdued, adding to our bias of scope bound terms enactment continuing for longer," the authors noted.