Author: CoinGecko
The cryptocurrency market witnessed a third consecutive quarter of growth in Q3 2025.
The total market capitalization rose by another 16.4%, adding $563.6 billion to reach $4.0 trillion, marking the highest level since the end of 2021. This quarter signifies the second phase of recovery for the crypto market, driven by surging liquidity, the return of institutional capital, and a strong rebound in trading activity.
Average daily trading volume increased by 43.8% to $155 billion, reversing declines observed in the previous two quarters.
The total market capitalization of stablecoins surged to an all-time high, rising 18.3% to $287.6 billion, with significant demand growth seen in USDe and USDC.
Meanwhile, decentralized finance (DeFi) made a strong comeback, with total value locked (TVL) growing by 40.2%, reclaiming its share of the overall market amid a broad-based recovery.
Among major assets, Ethereum (ETH) and BNB stood out, both reaching new all-time highs.
ETH surged by +68.5%, closing the quarter at $4,215;
BNB rose by +57.3%, ending the quarter at $1,030.
Spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges (CEX) grew by +31.6% quarter-on-quarter to $5.1 trillion, led by Binance and Bybit.
CoinGecko’s ‘Q3 2025 Crypto Industry Report’ provides a systematic review of the market landscape, trends in Bitcoin and Ethereum, dynamic performance of the DeFi and NFT ecosystems, as well as a comparative analysis between centralized and decentralized exchanges.
Below is a summary of the seven core highlights from this quarter’s report (the full report spans 51 pages and can be accessed at the end of this article):
Seven Key Highlights of Q3 2025
The total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market continued to rise by +16.4%, reaching $4 trillion.
The market capitalization of stablecoins grew by +$44.5 billion in the quarter, hitting a record high of $287.6 billion. USDe and USDC became the fastest-growing major players.
The price of Ethereum (ETH) surged from $2,502 to $4,946, setting a new all-time high.
BNB soared by +57.3%, breaking through $1,048 at the end of the quarter to reach a new high.
The total value of the DeFi market increased by +40.2%, reclaiming its dominant position in the market.
Spot trading volume on centralized exchanges grew by +31.6%, reaching $5.1 trillion.
Decentralized perpetual contract DEX trading volume hit a new high, with Aster, Lighter, and edgeX emerging as new challengers.
1. Total market capitalization of the cryptocurrency market continues to rise by +16.4%, reaching $4 trillion.
In the third quarter of 2025, the total market capitalization of cryptocurrencies increased by $563.6 billion (+16.4%), reaching $4.0 trillion by the end of the quarter, marking significant capital growth for the second consecutive quarter.
Meanwhile, overall market trading activity has fully recovered, with average daily trading volume rising to $155 billion (+43.8%), reversing the downward trend seen in Q1 and Q2 (Q2 was $107.8 billion), reflecting significantly higher market participation during the price rebound.
2. Stablecoin market capitalization surges by +$44.5 billion, hitting a new high of $287.6 billion.
In Q3 2025, the total market capitalization of the top 20 stablecoins increased by +18.3% (+$44.5 billion), reaching $287.6 billion, and continued to rise above $300 billion at the start of Q4.
Among them:
The market capitalization of USDe surged by +177.8% (+$9.4 billion), with its market share increasing from 2% to 5%, surpassing USDS to become the third-largest stablecoin.
The market capitalization of USDT increased by +$17 billion, but its market share dropped from 65% to 61%, reflecting the rapid rise of other stablecoins.
The price of Ethereum (ETH) surged from $2,502 to $4,946, reaching a new all-time high.
The ETH price hit a new all-time high of $4,946 in August before retreating to near $4,000. The quarter closed at $4,215 (+68.5%), outperforming BTC, SOL, and XRP among major assets.
The average daily trading volume of ETH increased from $19.5 billion in Q2 to $33.4 billion in Q3. The rise in trading activity was primarily driven by institutional buying pressure, with firms such as Bitmine Immersion (Tom Lee) and SharpLink (Joe Lubin) increasing their ETH holdings. Additionally, strong inflows into U.S. spot Ethereum ETFs further fueled the upward trend.
BNB surged by +57.3%, reaching a new all-time high of $1,048.
BNB closed Q3 2025 at $1,030 (+57.3%) and continued to climb to a new high of $1,369 in Q4. Quarterly trading volume doubled, rising from $800 million/day in Q2 to $1.7 billion/day.
Driving factors included:
The newly launched perpetual contract DEX ‘Aster’ introduced BNB trading pairs;
PancakeSwap’s deep integration through the Binance Alpha program activated DeFi activities on BSC, boosting demand for BNB.
5. The total market value of DeFi grew by +40.2%, regaining market dominance.
In Q3 2025, the total value locked (TVL) in DeFi rose from $1,150 billion to $1,610 billion (+40.2%). Benefiting from the rise in ETH prices and the expansion of stablecoins, the total market capitalization of DeFi also increased from $1,150 billion to $1,810 billion, reaching a quarterly peak at the end of September.
Strong performances by emerging projects such as Avantis (AVNT) and Aster (ASTER) propelled the overall recovery of the DeFi sector, with its market share increasing from 3.3% in Q2 to 4.0%.
6. Spot trading volume on centralized exchanges (CEX) increased by +31.6%, reaching $5.1 trillion.
In Q3 2025, the total spot trading volume of major global centralized exchanges reached $5.1 trillion (+31.6% QoQ).
Binance’s market share rose to 40%, with quarterly trading volume increasing by 40.2%, setting a new record high.
Bybit grew by 38.4%, rising from the 6th position globally to 3rd.
Upbit grew by 40.5%, entering the top ten globally.
Despite a +23.4% increase in trading volume, Coinbase’s global ranking dropped to 10th place.
Decentralized perpetual contract trading volume hit a new high of $1.8 trillion, with Aster, Lighter, and edgeX emerging as key players.
In Q3 2025, the total trading volume of the top ten decentralized perpetual contract exchanges (Perp DEX, excluding Aster) surged by +87.0%, rising from $964.5 billion to $1.81 trillion.
Among them:
Hyperliquid remains the leader with a 54.6% market share;
Aster, Lighter, and edgeX have emerged as new challengers, with Aster reaching a peak daily trading volume of $84.8 billion in September;
However, some of the traffic is driven by incentive programs, and the stability of capital flows still needs to be verified.
From the perspective of open interest (OI), Hyperliquid still accounts for 75% of the market share, while other platforms hold less than 10%.