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Crypto Market Up Only 3% in H1 2025 — What Does H2 Hold?
Despite the lackluster performance of the global crypto market in the first half of 2025, major players continue to accumulate and hold onto their crypto assets. According to recent data, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies stayed within a narrow range of $3.2-$3.4 trillion throughout the six months. This comes as a surprise, considering the historically strong Q2 and the ongoing institutional interest in the space.
The lack of significant price action has led to an increase in institutional capital inflows into the sector. Data from Coinglass shows that Bitcoin (BTC) dropped by 11.82% in Q1 but gained 30.23% in Q2, finishing H1 with a slight positive gain. Ethereum (ETH), on the other hand, fell 45.41% in Q1 and rebounded by 36.03% in Q2, resulting in a negative overall performance.
When compared to previous years, the crypto market’s modest 3% gain is relatively unimpressive. Bitcoin surged by 71.7% in H1 2023 and climbed 68.6% in H1 2024, while Ethereum saw gains of 52.1% and 59.7%, respectively.
A closer look at the data reveals that institutional players continued to support the market throughout the period. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted more than $21 billion in net inflows during Q1, with a single-day net flow of $501.20 million recorded in late June. Additionally, companies like MicroStrategy and Metaplanet have been expanding their treasury reserves by purchasing more BTC.
Interestingly, whales (wallets with 100-1,000 BTC) have also been actively building their positions. On-chain data confirms that they added over 93,000 BTC in January and 62,000 BTC in February. Furthermore, analysts remain optimistic about the market’s future prospects. Michael Saylor has reiterated his long-term view that every billionaire will eventually hold at least a billion dollars of Bitcoin, anticipating a supply squeeze to reset valuation. He also echoed Fundstrat’s prediction of $250,000 by year-end.
Matt Hougan, Bitwise CIO, has stated that there is simply too much structural demand for Bitcoin to remain capped, projecting $200,000 by December. Fundstrat’s Tom Lee agrees with this assessment, stating that the cap will be reset due to expanding global adoption and Bitcoin’s limited supply.
Source: coinchapter.com
