CoinGecko declares crypto winter as volumes hit lowest since 2023
CoinGecko says crypto winter is here. Q1 2026 brought a second straight drop in market cap and activity.
- Total market cap fell 20.4% (~$622B) to $2.4T, 45% below the October peak of $4.27T CoinGecko Q1 2026 report
- Average daily trading volume slid 27.2% QoQ to $117.8B CoinGecko Q1 2026 report
- Top-10 CEX spot volume dropped 39.1% QoQ to $2.7T CoinGecko Q1 2026 report
- Binance kept 37% share; MEXC held 10% CoinGecko Q1 2026 report
- January spot volume stayed above $1T; March fell to $0.8T, the weakest since November 2023 CoinGecko Q1 2026 report
“All top 10 spot CEXes saw trading volume decline in Q1, with drops ranging from -23% to -55%. HTX saw the biggest slump, with its quarterly trading volume dropping to $133.6B in 2026 Q1 from $294.4B in 2025 Q4. Its market share fell to 4.9%, placing it in #10.” CoinGecko Q1 2026 report
Majors fell again. Bitcoin lost 22% in Q1, slightly better than Ethereum, BNB, XRP, and Solana, but lagged Oil, Gold, and the S&P 500 CoinGecko Q1 2026 report.
Selective strength appeared in altcoins. CoinGecko flags Hyperliquid (HYPE) and Bittensor (TAO) as standouts after the Q4 2025 sell-off CoinGecko Q1 2026 report.
Stablecoins held steady. Sector cap rose 0.5% to $309.9B CoinGecko Q1 2026 report.
- USDT supply fell 1.6% to $184.1B, the first notable drop since Q2 2022 CoinGecko Q1 2026 report
- USDC grew 2.4% to $77.1B CoinGecko Q1 2026 report
- USDS and USD1 posted double-digit growth CoinGecko Q1 2026 report
CoinGecko calls stablecoins a “liquidity anchor” amid Q1 drawdowns CoinGecko Q1 2026 report.
