The cryptocurrency market has entered a “sustained crypto winter,” CoinGecko said, as spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges plunged during Q1 2026. Crypto market capitalization fell more than 20% in the quarter as lingering bearish momentum from late 2025 met global geopolitical instability.
The top 10 centralized exchanges by spot volume saw a 39% quarter-on-quarter decline, falling to $2.7 trillion from $4.5 trillion in Q4 2025. Average daily trading volume across the market dropped to $117.8 billion in Q1, down 27% from the prior quarter. March was the weakest month, with $800 billion in centralized exchange trading volume—the lowest since November 2023.
All of the top 10 spot CEXs recorded lower volumes. HTX (formerly Huobi) experienced the largest slump, with volumes sliding 55% to $133.6 billion. Bitcoin fell 22% over the quarter, underperforming broader assets even as US equity indexes posted their worst quarterly returns since 2022 (NASDAQ -7.1%, S&P 500 -4.8%).
CoinGecko attributed the contraction to a mix of factors: fading post-rally momentum after Bitcoin’s record above $126,000 six months earlier; fears of an economic slowdown; fallout and uncertainty from US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February; and signals of a potentially hawkish shift in US monetary policy following Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Federal Reserve chair.
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