I just noticed an interesting report released in mid-April about the cryptocurrency market performance during the first quarter. The picture is not encouraging at all – a sharp decline in market capitalization by 20.4% to $2.4 trillion, reflecting the pressures the market has faced since the end of 2025.

The numbers speak clearly: daily trading volume decreased by 27.2% to settle at $117.8 billion. The top ten centralized exchanges experienced a real crash in spot trading volume by 39.1%, reaching levels not seen since November 2023. Even in March alone, it recorded only $0.8 trillion.

When looking at stablecoins, the situation is relatively stable. The total market value remained at $309.9 billion, but significant shifts occurred within this figure. USDT recorded its first decline since Q2 2022 by 1.6%, while USDC grew modestly by 2.4%.

What is truly noteworthy is what is happening on the futures side. Solana continued to dominate DEX trading with a 30.6% share for the quarter, but Ethereum outperformed it in March. Hyperliquid benefited from the HIP-3 upgrade, which opened the door for commodity futures, and this tool now accounts for about 30% of their total open positions.

The real surprise came from tradeXYZ, where the daily trading volume of two oil futures contracts exceeded $4 billion on April 9. This means that oil trading volume surpassed Bitcoin trading volume on Hyperliquid for the first time. The impact of geopolitical shocks is very clear – oil surged 76.9%, making it the best-performing asset in the quarter.

Overall, the report shows a market under pressure, but with some bright spots in emerging sectors. Commodity futures seem poised to play an increasing role in the upcoming market.