Coinbase sees signs of a new 'crypto winter' and adopts a defensive stance for Bitcoin, David Duong from Coinbase adopts a more pessimistic view for the crypto market and highlights the risk of a prolonged downturn cycle. Coinbase has adopted a defensive outlook for the cryptocurrency market in the second quarter of 2025. In a report published this week, David Duong, global head of research at the brokerage, stated that the market may be entering a new bearish cycle, driven by a combination of technical and macroeconomic factors.

According to the report, both Bitcoin (BTC) and the COIN50 index – which includes the 50 largest tokens by market value – broke their 200-day moving averages downward, a classic signal of trend reversal. In the case of altcoins, the decline is even more pronounced: the total market value, excluding Bitcoin, has fallen 41% since the peak in December 2024, from $581,853,962,731.6 trillion to $58,185,396,273.950 billion.

Duong also points to a contraction in venture capital funding, which, despite a slight recovery in the first quarter, is still 50% to 60% below the levels of 2021 and 2022. 'These structural pressures arise from the uncertainty of the macroeconomic environment, marked by fiscal tightening and global tariff policies,' says the report.