CoinGecko says the market has entered a “sustained crypto winter” after spot trading volumes on centralized exchanges plunged in Q1 2026.
Overall crypto market capitalization fell more than 20% in the quarter amid lingering bearish momentum from late 2025 and rising geopolitical instability.
The top 10 centralized exchanges by spot volume posted a combined 39% quarter‑on‑quarter decline, sliding to $2.7 trillion from $4.5 trillion in Q4 2025. Average daily trading volume across the market fell to $117.8 billion in Q1, down 27% from the previous quarter. March was the weakest month, with just $800 billion in centralized exchange trading volume—the lowest level since November 2023.
Every one of the top 10 spot CEXs reported lower volumes. HTX (formerly Huobi) suffered the steepest drop, with volumes down 55% to $133.6 billion.
Bitcoin lost 22% over the quarter, underperforming broader risk assets even as major U.S. equity indexes posted their worst quarterly returns since 2022 (NASDAQ -7.1%, S&P 500 -4.8%).
CoinGecko attributed the slowdown to several factors: fading momentum after Bitcoin’s record above $126,000 about six months earlier; concerns about an economic slowdown; uncertainty and fallout from U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in February; and market nerves over a potentially hawkish turn in U.S. monetary policy following Kevin Warsh’s nomination as Federal Reserve chair.
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