Although the first half of 2025 saw Bitcoin soar to a new all-time high of around $112K in late May, fueled by institutional inflows and major Fed rate stabilization, the broader crypto market faced a much rougher ride, resulting in significant losses across most top coins.
According to data presented by CryptoPresales.com, more than 75% of major cryptocurrencies suffered brutal double-digit declines in the first half of the year. Here’s a look at the best and worst performers among them.
Dogecoin, Avalanche, Shiba Inu, and Polkadot Each Lost Roughly Half Their Value in H1
The first half of 2025 was a turbulent ride for the crypto market, marked by sharp volatility, fragmented gains, and shifting investor sentiment. Although the world’s most expensive cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, briefly hit a new all-time high, two-thirds of major altcoins, which together with BTC make up 80% of the total crypto market value, suffered significant double-digit losses.
The CoinMarketCap data show that 18 out of the top 25 cryptocurrencies by market cap ended H1 in the red, highlighting a broad market pullback despite a few isolated gains. Still, only a few were close to Dogecoin, the worst-performing major cryptocurrency. Fading meme coin hype, cooling social media buzz, and a broader investor shift toward utility-driven projects led to a massive 52% drop in DOGE’s price, the worst among major altcoins, following its already weak performance in 2024. However, Avalanche, Shiba Inu, and Polkadot weren’t far behind, with each losing around 47% of their value in the first six months.
Hedera, Uniswap, and Pepe were also among the worst performers, posting steep losses of 44% and 43%, respectively. SUI, Stellar, Chainlink and Cardano ended H1 with roughly 30% price drops, ranking somewhere in the middle of the list. The world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, Ethereum, also underperformed significantly, falling by 23% as macroeconomic headwinds slowed down smart contract use, despite ongoing Ethereum 2.0 adoption. Statistics show Bitget Token saw a similar decline, while Litecoin’s price fell by 15% in this period. Among the underperformers, BNB and UNUS SED LEO held up best, with modest losses of 5.8% and 1.6%.
Monero, Toncoin, and Hyperliquid Were the Standout Performers Among Top Cryptos in H1
In the top 25 group, only seven coins defied the negative trend, with three posting impressive double-digit gains, underscoring the market’s uneven performance. Monero was the best performer among them, ending H1 with a remarkable 68% price surge, far outpacing Bitcoin.
Toncoin followed closely with a 50% gain over the same period, while Hyperliquid ranked third with a 43% price increase. While also on the winning side, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Tron, and XRP saw more modest gains, rising by 17%, 14%, 10%, and 5.7%, respectively.
