2025 has been a year of records for the cryptocurrency market. The market capitalization surpassed $4 trillion, and major cryptocurrencies set new all-time highs (ATH).
Market capitalization and new records
In August 2025, the market capitalization of cryptocurrencies reached a record $4.2 trillion, marking an all-time high. This figure nearly doubled over the last year. The number of cryptocurrencies on the CoinMarketCap platform exceeded 20 million, with 77 of them having a market capitalization of over $1 billion. Bitcoin (BTC) still accounts for more than half of the cryptocurrency market, although its share has decreased by 12% over the past two months due to the growth of altcoins*.
* Altcoins — these are all cryptocurrencies except Bitcoin (BTC). The term "altcoins" comes from the words "alternative" and "coin". Altcoins were created as alternatives to Bitcoin and may have various characteristics and functions, including improved algorithms, security features, or smart contract support.
New ATH for Bitcoin
In August, Bitcoin updated its all-time high, reaching $124,500. The cryptocurrency's market capitalization at its peak was $2.45 trillion, comparable to the market capitalization of major companies such as Alphabet, Amazon, Tesla, and Berkshire Hathaway. Bitcoin continues to rapidly increase its share in the global financial sector, approaching gold in terms of market capitalization.
Ethereum (ETH) records
Ethereum, the second-largest altcoin by market capitalization, updated its ATH in late August, reaching $4950, also a record level for ETH. The market capitalization of Ethereum reached $583 billion, with its market share standing at 14.4%.
BNB at its peak
BNB also set a record, establishing a new ATH of $900 and surpassing a market capitalization of $120 billion. Over the past year, BNB's price increased by 50%, and its market capitalization grew by 43%.
Altcoins at their peak
Other altcoins such as Solana (SOL) and XRP (XRP) also updated their historical highs in 2025. Solana reached a record of $293 in January, although it later lost its position to XRP. XRP, despite approaching its ATH, entered the top three leading cryptocurrencies by market capitalization for the first time.
Trading volumes and liquid staking
The total trading volume of cryptocurrencies in 2025 surpassed $240 billion, five times more than last year. Liquid staking protocols* also reached records, with the volume of locked funds exceeding $80 billion. This represents more than half of the total volume of the DeFi sector.
* Liquid staking — a process where users can lock their cryptocurrency assets for staking participation while retaining the ability to use or trade these assets for other purposes, such as exchanging or trading.
Real World Assets (RWA) market
The Real World Assets (RWA)* sector became one of the most dynamic on the DeFi market, with a volume reaching $14.9 billion in August 2025. Forecasts indicate that this segment could grow to $16 trillion by 2030.
* RWA (Real World Assets) — these are real physical assets such as real estate, commodities (e.g., gold, oil), stocks, debts (e.g., bonds), and other traditional economy assets that are tokenized on the blockchain. Tokenizing these assets allows them to be converted into digital form, enabling them to be traded or used within the DeFi (decentralized finance) ecosystem.
Solana in second place by TVL
The Solana ecosystem continues to show growth, reaching a record $11 billion in TVL*, becoming the second-largest in DeFi after Ethereum. If the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) approves applications for a Solana-ETF*, the ecosystem's indicators could grow significantly.
* TVL (Total Value Locked) — this is the total amount of funds locked in DeFi protocols (decentralized finance), such as liquid staking, lending, and exchanges. TVL measures the total volume of capital invested or locked in these protocols and is an important indicator of the size and popularity of the DeFi sector.