Emre Yumlu 
Swiss-based digital asset bank Sygnum predicts that the altcoin market may experience a strong recovery in the second quarter of 2025. The bank stated that with significantly improved regulations for crypto assets, a favorable environment has emerged for altcoin investors. However, the report also noted that these positive developments have not yet been priced in.
In April, Bitcoin dominance reached its highest level in four years. This indicates that investors are turning to Bitcoin, which is seen as a safer haven. Still, Sygnum emphasized that new digital asset policies implemented in the United States—such as President Donald Trump’s “Digital Asset Reserve” initiative and progress in stablecoin regulations—may accelerate broader crypto adoption.
The bank foresees that protocols capable of attracting user attention will outperform others, and that Bitcoin’s market share may decline in this process.
Sygnum: Focus on Economic Value Heats Up the Competition
Sygnum highlighted that behind the increasing competition in the industry lies a strategic focus on creating economic value. This situation could pave the way for higher-quality projects to come to the forefront in terms of user experience.
The report pointed out that emerging projects like Toncoin, Sui, Aptos, Sonic, and Berachain have entered the competition with different approaches. While these high-performance blockchains offer alternatives to the limitations of leading networks like Ethereum, Solana, and Bitcoin, they still face challenges in gaining a broad user base and generating revenue.
In particular, Berachain’s system of incentivizing liquidity providers, Sonic’s developer-focused reward model, and Toncoin’s access to 1 billion users through Telegram integration were highlighted as sustainable strategies.
Layer-2 Solutions Also in Focus: Base Stands Out
In addition to altcoin-related developments, Sygnum’s report also covered Layer-2 solutions. Specifically, the Base network reached peak user and revenue numbers amid the recent memecoin frenzy. However, this surge quickly declined as interest in memecoins faded.
Despite this, Base remains a leader in key metrics such as daily transaction volume, throughput, and total value locked (TVL).
Memecoins Topped the Charts in Q1
In the first quarter of 2025, despite all price fluctuations, memecoins remained among the top choices for investors. According to data, memecoin projects attracted 27.1% of global investor interest, ranking just behind AI-focused tokens at 35.7%.
While retail investors continue to show interest in memecoins, institutional investors seem to be shifting toward Bitcoin. At least 12 publicly traded companies purchased Bitcoin for the first time in Q1 2025, bringing the total Bitcoin holdings of public firms to $57 billion.
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