Zinger Key Points
- Spot trading on centralized exchanges dropped 27.7% quarter-on-quarter, even as Bitcoin hit a new all-time high in May.
- PancakeSwap became the leading DEX by volume as decentralized exchanges saw record spot and perpetual trading activity.
- A new wave of value and momentum stocks could be setting up for major moves—and Tim Melvin will name them live this Wednesday. Secure access here.
The total cryptocurrency market capitalization has exceeded $4 trillion, led by strong price movements in Bitcoin BTC/USD, Ethereum ETH/USD, and XRP ETH/USD, according to CoinGecko's 2025 Q2 report.
What Happened: Bitcoin accounts for 59.9% of the market and Ethereum 10.8%, according to the report.
XRP has also emerged as a top performer.
The asset has surged past $3.60, lifting its market capitalization above $210 billion and positioning it as the third-largest cryptocurrency.
On South Korea's leading exchange Upbit, XRP/KRW trading volume reached $2.2 billion in the last 24 hours, representing 33% of the platform's total volume.
This spike reflects the broader pattern of intense retail trading activity in Korea, where XRP has historically enjoyed strong investor interest due to its low unit price, high volatility, and familiarity among local traders.
Korean markets often exhibit concentrated volume around select tokens, and XRP has consistently been one of the top-traded assets in the region.
The recent price surge likely triggered momentum-based buying, further amplified by Upbit's KRW pairs, which offer direct fiat access, a key factor in Korea's retail-driven market structure.
“This quarter shows a market that's recovering in value but shifting in structure,” the CoinGecko report stated. “Spot volumes on centralized exchanges are down, while DEX activity continues to climb.”
Also Read: The US Just Took A Big Step Toward Crypto Regulation—Here’s What The Clarity Act Actually Says
Why It Matters: The report highlights a 24% increase in total market value for Q2, with $663.6 billion in recovered capital bringing the market to $3.5 trillion by the end of June.
Continued price appreciation in early Q3 has now propelled the total to over $4 trillion.
"Capital flowed overwhelmingly into BTC," the report noted, "pushing its market dominance past 62%, while altcoins struggled to regain momentum."
Despite the altcoin weakness, Ethereum was the only top-7 non-BTC asset to post a gain in dominance.
Meanwhile, decentralized exchanges posted their strongest quarter yet.
Spot DEX trading volume grew 25.3% quarter-on-quarter to $876.3 billion, pushing the DEX-to-CEX volume ratio to an all-time high of 0.23.
PancakeSwap CAKE/USD emerged as the largest DEX, capturing 45% of Q2 trading volume after Binance Alpha began routing trades through its liquidity pools.
Perpetual trading on decentralized platforms also reached record highs.
Hyperliquid HYPE/USD accounted for 72.7% of DEX perp volume, registering $653.2 billion in Q2.
The total for all decentralized perp platforms stood at $898 billion.
Adding to market momentum was Circle's CRCL IPO, which was oversubscribed 25 times.
The stock debuted at $31 and peaked at $298.99 within weeks.
"The price action of CRCL post-IPO was extremely volatile," the report noted, but it ended the quarter as a bellwether for crypto-equity crossovers.
What’s Next: Despite the broader market rebound, centralized exchange activity lagged.
Spot trading volume across major CEXes fell by 27.7% to $3.9 trillion in Q2, with Binance remaining the top platform despite declining volumes.
“The data signals more than just recovery,” CoinGecko wrote. “It reflects a deepening shift toward decentralization in both infrastructure and trading behavior.”
Read Next:
Image: Shutterstock
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
Trade confidently with insights and alerts from analyst ratings, free reports and breaking news that affects the stocks you care about.