Crypto Market Report for Q1 2025 (+ Top Learnings for Q2)

Linity Market Brief: Q1 2025 - The Quarter That Wasn’t

Welcome to the first Linity Market Brief!

Unfortunately, we start with sobering news—Bitcoin's worst Q1 since 2018, Ethereum approaching all-time quarterly lows, and presidential memecoins pumping then dumping. Q1 disappointed, but smart money is positioning for what's next. You should too.

The numbers don’t lie.

BTC had a ~12% turndown this quarter, making it the worst Q1 performance since 2018. Take a look:

Source: Coinglass

To add to the point about Bitcoin's negative quarterly return, the yearly chart suggests it will need some support to maintain its trajectory.

Source: Coingecko

Ethereum had even a worse time, experiencing its second-most negative quarter ever, with only 2018 showing weaker returns.

Source: Coinglass

But it’s not all black. There’s some white. Smart money keeps accumulating.

While retail sentiment grew, institutional accumulation continued. Tether added another 8,888 Bitcoin worth $735M to their treasury in Q1, bringing their total holdings to 92.6K BTC. When one of the largest stablecoin issuers keeps stacking through market weakness, it's worth paying attention.

However, not everything was positive for USDT. Binance and other major exchanges stopped USDT spot trading in Europe by March 31 to comply with MiCA regulations. If you're in Europe with USDT on a regulated exchange, consider withdrawing it or swapping to a MiCA-compliant alternative.

MicroStrategy remained relentless, acquiring over 29,000 BTC in March alone. Their total Bitcoin holdings now exceed 528,000 BTC (~$45.2B), with an average purchase price of $67,485.

Source: Michael Saylor Portfolio Tracker

Even though most of the majors had a bad quarter, some projects have a positive trend. Cardano grew by ~16% and emerged as a top gainer among majors following Trump’s mention alongside the U.S. Crypto Reserve.

**Want to learn how to earn 2.5% - 5% APY on Cardano? Check our Cardano Staking Rewards Guide. **

The fundraising environment raised $5.84B during the first three months of 2025, marking a significant recovery to levels not seen since 2022.

Source: DefiLlama

US Crypto Reserve: Strategic Implications

In early March 2025, President Donald Trump signed an executive order starting a U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and a broader U.S. Digital Asset Stockpile​. This “digital Fort Knox” will be funded with cryptocurrency seized by law enforcement (200,000 BTC by some estimates) and held long-term. However, there has never been a complete audit of these assets.

Besides Bitcoin, the Reserve will consist of Ethereum, Ripple and Solana forfeited in criminal cases, which will go in a separate Reserve.

Source: Truth Social

The strategic value for the U.S. remains clear: not selling any Bitcoin deposited into the Reserve. By holding seized Bitcoin instead of auctioning it, the U.S. will become a large stakeholder in the Bitcoin network. Furthermore, the mention of Bitcoin as “digital gold” and a reserve asset, could boost market confidence once the dust settles from a dramatic Q1 and tariffs developments. Finally, the inclusion of altcoins like XRP, SOL, and ADA signal a positive attitude even for riskier assets when compared to Bitcoin.

Trump’s Proposed Tariffs and Crypto Impacts

In Q1 2025, President Trump moved forward with his tariff proposals that scared the global markets. He announced a baseline 10% tariff on all U.S. imports, with higher duties on multiple countries. This broad tariff regime shocked trade partners and provoked fears of a new trade war.

Despite the administration’s crypto-friendly stance, the tariff news initially scared crypto markets as part of a broader risk-off reaction. For crypto, the immediate effects included volatility as investors transferred their funds to stablecoins.

Q1’s Token Launch Bonanza

Despite market challenges, Q1 saw massive value creation through token launches. Based on FDV (Fully Diluted Valuation), there were a few standouts.

Story Protocol sits at a staggering $4.15B FDV at the time of writing, making it a top 100 projects based on market cap. Their decentralized IP rights management system seems to be reshaping how creators monetize content.

Source: Coingecko

Berachain, one of Linity's most followed testnet projects, finally launched this quarter. The long-anticipated "bear market darling" secured a $3.5B fully diluted valuation. Its airdrop distributed approximately $632M in value, making it Q1's most successful token distribution event. The biggest recipient on Berachain received 3.599 million tokens ($28.8 million with $8 per token). This made it the highest single-address airdrop among recent projects.

To maximize your chances in future high-value airdrops, check our "What's The Biggest Crypto Airdrop in History" where we break down the exact participation tactics that helped our members secure rewards.

Source: Coingecko

Sonic Labs launch achieved $1.59B FDV at #58, with their cross-chain infrastructure gaining significant traction among developers. Sonic staking ranges from 5% to 6.5% APY, and you can learn how to stake your $S token and earn potential passive rewards in Linity’s Sonic Staking Opportunity.

Source: Coingecko

Solayer is not far behind at $1.45B FDV. Their Genesis Drop allocated 12% of maximum $LAYER supply to early participants. These tokens are now worth about $185M with $LAYER trading at $1.55.

Source: Coingecko

Success stories

Apart from being introduced in the U.S. Crypto Reserve, Cardano has been making strides. It entered a new phase of on-chain governance. In late January, the Plomin hard fork went live, solidifying Cardano’s transition to a community-governed blockchain.

Solana celebrated twelve consecutive months without network downtime. The last two quarters were one of the most massive in Solana’s history. For example, during the $TRUMP token launch, Solana experienced a massive surge of volume, and activity. It was so dramatic that Phantom wallet services crashed during the $MELANIA token launch as users flooded the ecosystem.

As AI and blockchain converge, projects like Bittensor introduced unique consensus-economic models. In Feb 2025, Bittensor deployed its “Dynamic TAO” (dTAO) upgrade, revamping how consensus rewards are allocated. We have covered Bittensor in our Bittensor Staking Guide where you could earn 16.5% - 19% APY.

Babylon introduced a system where Bitcoin holders can stake BTC to secure other chains.

Catastrophe Averted: The Bybit Hack vs Presidential Memecoin Battleground

When North Korean hackers stole $1.4B from Bybit's Ethereum wallet on February 21st, many feared another FTX-level collapse. Instead, what we got was a masterclass in crisis management, preventing what could have been this cycle's existential crisis.

On the contrary to the good management of Bybit, The $TRUMP memecoin launched to much fanfare—and perhaps signaled the market top. The combination of $TRUMP and $MELANIA absorbed $26B in liquidity, which is equivalent to Cardano’s entire market cap. Other politically-inspired tokens like $LIBRA followed suit, with most becoming classic pump-and-dump schemes.

To avoid getting caught in similar traps, check our guide on "5 Critical Memecoin Trading Mistakes."

Source: Coingecko

Solana’s Marketing Misstep

Solana faced significant backlash in March 2025 after briefly publishing an advertisement titled "America is Back—Time to Accelerate." The promotional video garnered over 1.4 million views before Solana removed it.

Crypto community members criticized the ad for its politically charged content, labeling it "offensive" and "divisive." A particularly controversial scene showed a young man in therapy for "rational thinking syndrome" declaring: "I want to invent technologies, not gender."

Here’s what the CEO had to say:

Source: Anatoly Yakovenko

Community Spotlight: Airdrop Success Stories

One Linity community member shared their Berachain airdrop experience:

"Bera airdrop was one of the best airdrops we enjoyed in Q1. They rewarded contributors and folks who believe in the project. Imagine $4000 by just posting some tweets on X. More airdrops like this will come, I'll definitely use Linity's guide and get myself positioned."

Join our Telegram and Discord communities for more insights and success stories from fellow airdrop hunters.

Looking Ahead: Q2 Forecast

Despite the rocky start to 2025, several factors suggest Q2 could bring positive momentum:

• Historical patterns show Q1 weakness often precedes Q2 strength
• Launch momentum continuing with several anticipated projects in pipeline
• Token launches from Q1 creating new ecosystems and opportunities

Ready to position yourself for potential airdrops this quarter? Check out our airdrop strategy guide to learn how to turn those tokens into meaningful gains! Happy second quarter of 2025!