The cryptocurrency market posted another strong quarter in Q3 2025, extending its rally for the third consecutive period. The total market capitalization increased by 16.4%, adding $563.6 billion to reach $4 trillion, marking the highest valuation since the bull run at the end of 2021.
CoinGecko’s recently released Q3 2025 Crypto Industry Report described the quarter as the market’s “second stage of recovery,” driven by increased liquidity, renewed institutional inflows, and a strong rebound in trading activity.
Average daily trading volume increased 43.8% to $155 billion, reversing declines seen in the first and second quarters, the CoinGecko report revealed.
Stablecoins recorded an 18.3% increase in market capitalization to a record $287.6 billion. Ethena’s USDe gained the most, expanding its market capitalization by 177.8% to $9.4 billion, while Tether’s USDT added $17 billion but lost market share to its emerging rivals.
DeFi also made a strong comeback, with total value locked (TVL) soaring 40.2% to $161 billion at the end of September. CoinGecko added that the DeFi market capitalization rose to $133 billion alongside the rise in Ethereum price, reaching a high of $181 billion at the end of September.
DeFi’s share of the total crypto market grew from 3.3% to 4% quarter over quarter, indicating increased appetite for decentralized services and governance.
CoinGecko revealed that ETH is one of the top performers, rising 68.5% to close the third quarter at $4,215 after hitting an all-time high of $4,946 in August.
Trading volume nearly doubled, from a daily average of $19.5 billion in Q2 to $33.4 billion in Q3, primarily due to massive inflows into US spot ETH ETFs.
BNB also hit a new all-time high of $1,048 during the quarter, ending at $1,030, an increase of 57.3%. The altcoin surpassed $1,300 in October, supported by the launch of the Aster perpetual DEX and the integration of PancakeSwap into Binance’s Alpha program.
Quarterly spot volumes on centralized exchanges (CEX) rose 31.6% to $5.1 trillion, led by leading platforms Binance, Bybit and Upbit.
Binance increased its quarterly trading volume by 40.2%, maintaining a 40% market share. Bybit rose from sixth to third place globally, while Coinbase fell behind in 10th place despite a 23.4% volume increase and plans for a Base token in the near future.
Meanwhile, perpetual decentralized exchanges (Perp DEX) reached new heights, with trading volumes increasing 87% to $1.8 trillion. Hyperliquid maintained its lead with a 54.6% market share, although rivals Aster, Lighter and edgeX are rapidly gaining ground.