- Bitcoin has been in decline since the White House press briefing announcing 104% tariffs on China after poor performance in Q1 2025.
- Ethereum consolidated throughout the quarter while the DeFi ecosystem and Layer 2s captured market share.
- US President Trump-linked WLF diversified treasury holdings into Bitcoin, Ethereum and other tokens.
- ETF issuers eyed altcoins like XRP and Solana, with the ProShares Solana ETF potentially becoming effective as early as April 16.
Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and XRP suffered a correction alongside the rest of the cryptocurrencies in Q1 2025. The economic uncertainty and decline in institutional interest have rattled the crypto market.
While most Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) saw net outflows, iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF was a notable exception. Bitcoin has recovered from flash crashes throughout Q1 2025 and analysts believe the bull market is still on.
Bitcoin price in Q1 2025 and what to expect
Bitcoin’s correlation with Gold is negative, while its correlation with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite is on the rise, according to data from The Block.
Bitcoin Pearson Correlation (30 days) | Source: TheBlock
Bitcoin price wiped out 11.7% from its value in Q1 2025, the worst performance noted by the largest cryptocurrency in years. However, BTC is holding onto nearly 27% gains in the six-month timeframe.
The Trump administration’s pro-crypto stance pushed BTC to recover from each drawdown in Q1 2025, however, Bitcoin posted 18% year-to-date losses and hovers around $77,000 at the time of writing.
The anticipation of the Bitcoin Strategic Reserve and the Federal government’s plans for crypto failed to sustain BTC’s gains. Traders’ sentiments were dampened as global markets reacted to US tariff announcements and Bitcoin price took a turn for the worse, alongside equities.
An NYDIG report on crypto’s Q1 2025 review compares Bitcoin’s performance in the first quarter alongside other asset categories, and the risk asset is nearly at the bottom.
Q1 2025 returns for different asset categories | Source: NYDIG
On Tuesday, in the White House briefing, the US announced 104% tariffs on China, and BTC started its decline, down from the $80,800 high to the $76,400 level. It remains to be seen whether BTC drops under key support at $74,500 and erases all gains since the Presidential election’s result declaration on November 7, 2024.
Ethereum drops over 45% in Q1 2025, slips to lowest level since November 2023
In Q1 2025, Ethereum wiped out 45% of its value and trades at $1,462 at the time of writing. The altcoin hit its lowest level since November 2023 in Q1 and hit a new cycle low, a drop to its lowest point in two years, at $1,411 in the market crash this Monday.
Ethereum’s decline had several catalysts, such as a lack of institutional demand for the altcoin’s ETF, loss of interest from retail and institutional traders, and value capture by DeFi protocols and Layer 2 chains that derive their security infrastructure from Ethereum.
Ethereum Foundation’s ETH sales were another factor that dampened the sentiment of holders and the altcoin failed to hold on to key support levels.
ETH/USDT 1-day price chart
While Trump-linked World Liberty Financial (WLF) diversified its crypto portfolio with Ethereum among other tokens, it failed to catalyze demand for the altcoin among large wallet investors and institutions.
XRP struggles even as SEC drops litigation, ends legal battle
XRP ended Q1 2025 with a less than half a percent gain in the three months. This implies the altcoin’s price remained nearly unchanged. Q1 2025 was marked with catalysts like the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) decision to end the legal battle against Ripple, the payment remittance firm behind the XRPLedger, and settle for a $50 million fine.
The SEC reduced the fine amount from $125 million to $50 million under the new agreement, the firm made strides with its RLUSD stablecoin and US-based partnerships. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse committed to expanding the remittance firm within the US as well, contributing to the growth of the US as the “crypto capital” of the world.
The catalysts failed to push XRP to close Q1 on a positive note and the altcoin trades at $1.8225 at the time of writing.
Solana closer to ETF approval, what next?
In their review of Q1 2025, analysts at NYDIG highlight the progress of the ProShares Solana ETF and the likelihood of it being deemed effective on April 16. The ETF holds CME Solana Futures and if it is effective after mid-April, trading could go live shortly.
The development could act as a positive market mover for Solana alongside bullish developments in the SOL ecosystem. The trench warfare between Pump.fun and Raydium and their attempts to grab market share and trade volume from the competition have contributed to higher revenue for the chain. A push from Solana Futures ETF adoption could support gains in SOL price in Q2 2025.
