A CoinGecko report shows that the total market capitalization of the crypto market fell by 20.4% to $2.4 trillion in the first quarter of 2026, and the daily trading volume of commodity perpetual contracts on Hyperliquid once exceeded that of Bitcoin.
The total market capitalization of stablecoins remained largely unchanged at $309.9 million in the same quarter; Tether USDT issuance declined significantly by 1.6% for the first time since the second quarter of 2022, while Circle USDC increased by 2.4%.
Market transactions cooled down simultaneously.
The report states that Bitcoin fell 22% in the quarter, underperforming major US stock indices. Centralized exchange spot trading volume declined 39.1% quarter-over-quarter to $2.7 trillion, while Solana remained the leading decentralized exchange with a 30.6% share.
On Hyperliquid, commodity perpetual contracts account for approximately 30% of total open interest. Its 24/7 oil contract trading volume at one point exceeded the platform's daily Bitcoin trading volume, indicating that derivatives trading focus is shifting to other asset classes.
Top-tier crypto VC returns under pressure
Leading crypto VCs such as Paradigm, Pantera Capital, a16z crypto , and Multicoin generally saw their assets under management shrink during the market downturn in 2025. a16z crypto's four funds' AUM declined by approximately 40% to $9.5 billion between 2024 and 2025.
Pantera distributed funds to investors after the IPOs of companies like Circle and BitGo, while Multicoin AUM fell back to approximately $2.7 billion. In contrast, Haun Ventures AUM grew by over 30% year-over-year to approximately $2.5 billion, with plans to raise $1 billion in new funds by 2025.
