Q1 2025 crypto recap wrapped up with a dynamic mix of events in the crypto market. Donald Trump’s presidency sparked high expectations for a U.S.-led “crypto capital,” but trade war fears and a “sell the news” mood drove volatility.

The total market cap fluctuated between $2.5-3 trillion, with Bitcoin (BTC) sliding from a $108,000 peak (Dec 2024) to $92,000–95,000 by late March.

Did Trade Wars Crash Crypto?

The quarter kicked off with optimism from Trump’s pro-crypto agenda, but his February tariffs on Canada, Mexico, and China triggered a massive sell-off, liquidating $8–10 billion in a single week, a record high.

BTC dropped nearly 15%, and top altcoins like Ethereum (ETH) and Solana (SOL) fell 10–20%. Institutional inflows via Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs ($107.5B and $12.05B AUM by late 2024) and stablecoins (TVL over $220B) kept the market resilient amid the turbulence.

Q1 2025 Crypto Recap: Are Meme Coins the New Gold Rush?

Meme coins ruled Q1, capturing 11% of daily trading volume, outpacing DeFi (5%) and layer-1 tokens (4%). Studio Ghibli-themed coins erupted in late March, fueled by OpenAI’s GPT-4o Ghibli-style image feature. Standouts included:

$TRUMP: Launched Jan 18 by Trump, hit a $6B market cap in days, peaking at $75 before dropping to $32.45 as profits were taken.
$MELANIA: Debuted Jan 19, soared to $13B in 4 hours, then crashed 99% to $189M, suspected as a rug pull.
$BROCCOLI: Emerged Feb 13 after CZ’s dog post, hit $87M on Solana with a 1,000% surge in 3 days.
$GHIBLI (Ghiblification): Launched Mar 27 on Solana via Bitget Seed, reached $36M in under 24 hours, up 39,000%, riding the AI art trend.
$GHIBLICZ: Listed on Binance Alpha Mar 28 with $GHIBLI, hit $14M, boosted by CZ and Solana buzz.

Can Exchanges Survive the Hack Wave?

Security breaches defined Q1, exposing critical weaknesses:

Bybit Hack (Feb 21): Lost $1.46B, the biggest blockchain hack ever.
Hyperliquid & JELLYJELLY (Mar 26): Hyperliquid faced a $230M debt after a $JELLYJELLY short squeeze. Whales manipulated 124.6M JELLY ($4.85M), costing the DEX $6.5M.

Hayden Davis: Hero or Fraud?

Hayden Davis emerged as a central figure in Q1’s meme coin scandals:

$WOLF Launch (Mar 15): Davis, already linked to $LIBRA and $MELANIA, launched $WOLF while on an Interpol notice. Bubblemaps exposed his attempts to conceal involvement, noting suspicious wallet activity (Mar 15, 22:14 +07).
$MELANIA Selling (Mar 28): After weeks of inactivity, Davis resumed dumping $MELANIA, sending $1M to exchanges and extracting over $2M from liquidity pools, as detailed by Bubblemaps with Coffeezilla’s collaboration (Mar 28, 19:39 +07).
Collaborative Expose: Bubblemaps and Coffeezilla confirmed Davis as the mastermind behind $LIBRA, $MELANIA, and $WOLF, revealing a pattern of token launches and dumps.

The X community split, with some decrying Davis’s manipulation and others blaming investor greed, underscoring KOL-driven risks in meme coins.

Will Trump Rewrite Crypto Rules?

Trump’s Crypto Reserve: Signed Mar 2, creating a national reserve for BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, and ADA.
Gary Gensler Resigns: Stepped down Jan 20 as Trump took office, hinting at a softer regulatory stance.
MiCA & USDT in EU: MiCA forced EU exchanges to delist USDT in March over transparency gaps, though Tether’s CEO refuted collapse claims.

What’s Next for Crypto Chaos?

Q1 2025 Crypto Recap highlighted a fragmented market: Ghibli-fueled meme coins thrived on FOMO and AI, but scams like Davis’s ventures loomed large; hacks exposed security flaws; and U.S.-EU policies laid new groundwork.

Q2 2025 could rally if Trump’s reserve and Fed rate cuts (4 projected for 2025) kick in, but meme coin volatility and macro risks remain key concerns.

MevX is your news source, stay tuned for the latest!