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From December’s mixed performance on the crypto market, January continued the trend with sideways momentum, increased uncertainty and price action dictated by political decisions, as opposed to broader market consensus.
Amid the market uncertainties, traders are particularly searching for freebies and attractive deals, such as the XM $30 bonus.
As the market continues to anticipate the creation of a strategic crypto reserve in the United States, most major cryptocurrencies have struggled to replicate the massive gains seen right after the election results reached the market back in November, 2024.
So, what to expect from the crypto market in February and will market conditions improve? — As the Trump administration takes shape and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) starts to go into action, crypto whales are likely to hold off on major investments in the near term, anticipating the market to stabilize above current levels.
According to ForexNewsNow, major cryptocurrencies have experienced particular difficulties in recent days, being unable to break out from the current support levels, as billions of dollars of capital exited the market in recent weeks.
Top 5 Gainers of January 2025
Despite the uncertainties plaguing the crypto market, traders could find a decent amount of gainers over the course of January. The main reason for this has been the inauguration of Donald Trump, which was a highly anticipated event for many investors.
However, it is also worth noting that many coins fell rather quickly after posting double-digit returns.
Onyxcoin (XCN) +1200%
Onyxcoin has been the undoubted winner of the month of January on the crypto market, gaining over 1,000% over the past 31 days of trading.
The decentralized Web3 protocol has served as the recipient of a lot of investor excitement as the rest of the market took a tumble.
As a fresh entry on the crypto market, the coin quickly picked up the momentum, delivering eyewatering gains to investors in the process.
Going forward, it is highly unlikely for the coin to maintain its current run of form, especially as uncertainty seems to persist on the market. Therefore, a correction in the price of XCN is highly likely in the near future.
Official Trump (TRUMP) +285%
The Official Trump meme coin was the main event of the crypto market prior to Donald Trump’s inauguration on 20 January. In fact, the coin’s value grew a whopping 10 fold and more. However, this has proven to be short-lived, as the coin quickly crashed down to a fraction of the price and is trading at $25 as of this writing — A third of the price from the peak on 19 January.
As Donald Trump and his administration continue working on the DOGE department and implement some of their pre-election plans, the coin is likely to regain momentum.
However, the current market conditions and a heated trade war with China, are unlikely to cause any notable bullish momentum in the price action of TRUMP.
Therefore, it is advisable for traders to wait for the coin to drop further before reentering the market.
Mantra (OM) +50.6%
The DeFi platform Mantra was another notable winner of the January crypto market, rising by as much as 50% over the past 31 days of trading.
It is worth noting that the bulk of this rise came through towards the end of the month and happened quite rapidly. While OM holders will be happy with this, it also indicates that a rapid correction is also very likely.
The annual performance of the coin stands at over 3,300% — making Mantra one of the highest-performing cryptocurrencies on the market of the past 12 months.
DeXe (DEXE) +43.5%
The decentralized social trading platform DeXe saw its coin deliver solid growth over the course of January. However, as the price chart indicates, the coin experienced a lot of volatility — with wild upswings and downfalls in a relatively short period of time.
For this reason, assessing the future performance of the coin can be more challenging than most. Regardless, holders of DeXe will be happy with their returns in January, which amounted to over 40% in total gains.
Due to current uncertainties on the market, DeXe is likely to go through a correction before it manages to grow steadily in the future.
Monero (XMR) +22.6%
The most popular and recognizable name on our list, Monero, enjoyed a fruitful month in January, gaining over 20% in market value over the month.
Over the past 12 months of trading saw the coin gain 32%, which is a modest return when compared to other coins on the market.
The gains seen by Monero investors were gradual over the course of January, which may mean a more sustainable performance of XMR in the long run.
In fact, Monero had been growing steadily over the past year, which should give investors more reasons to be optimistic about the coin’s future.
Top 5 Losers of January 2025
As is characteristic of mixed months on the crypto market, several coins also experienced considerable losses over January.
However, it is worth noting that a considerable amount of losing coins are memecoins, which is not uncommon during periods of high uncertainty on the market.
Melania Meme (MELANIA) — 85%
Alongside the TRUMP coin, MELANIA was another election-related meme coin that rose sharply by the inauguration date and then completely collapsed in the following trading days.
In fact, due to a very short performance history and a complete fallout after the inauguration, MELANIA is among the memecoins that are not advisable to invest in, even for crypto enthusiasts with a large appetite for risk.
However, it is also worth noting that the coin could rebound as positive news surrounding the Trump presidency reaches the market.
This does not mean that the coin could not fall further, as this is also a definite possibility.
Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) −56%
Pudgy Penguins is a new piece of the global crypto market, having gone through its ICO in December 2024. However, the coin has since lost a considerable amount of market value — Dropping by over 55% throughout January.
Pudgy Penguins is a producer of content, toys and digital collectibles featuring animated penguins. Therefore, PENGU is another meme coin that has suffered over the course of January.
Since the coin has a short performance record, assessing its potential future returns can be tricky. However it is without doubt that unless the overall market sentiment improves, PINGU and other meme coins are highly unlikely to rebound noticeably.
Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) — 47.3%
Virtuals Protocol is a coin that entered the market in 2024 and saw its value skyrocket at the start of 2025, reaching over $4.6 in price. However, the coin has since fallen considerably and closed the month of January at $1.60.
Due to the gradual decline in the price of VIRTUAL, the prospects of a comeback as the market leaves the uncertainty behind and starts to turn is quite likely.
Despite this, the short-term performance of the coin is unsurprising, as the market quickly switched from majority bullish to mixed and exhibiting signs of fear and indecision.
Dogwifhat (WIF) −39.5%
The recent meme coin sensation that has been Dogwifhat has fallen to the wayside in January — dropping almost 40% of its market value.
The coin has gained over 250% since its ICO, which places it among the top-performing meme coins of the past year, despite being nowhere near its April and November 2024 peaks, when the coin traded at over $4, as opposed to hovering around $1 by the end of January 2025.
In order for WIF to regain some lost ground in the coming months, market conditions need to switch to firmly bullish, as opposed to the 45/100 Greed Index of the current market.
Meme coins have gone through a difficult period since the start of 2025 and investors will be hopeful of a major turnaround in market sentiment to reclaim lost ground.
Pepe (PEPE) −32.7%
Pepe has been one of the most popular meme coins since its ICO in April 2023, gaining over 1,000% since hitting the market.
However, the latest month of trading has been less kind towards the coin, which fell by over 30% over the period.
Much of this decline can be attributed to the increasing uncertainty on the crypto market, which was triggered by the Trump administration’s increasing push towards tariff wars, particularly with China, Canada and Mexico.
While this may not have a direct impact on the crypto market, it is highly likely to affect the overall economic prospects of the United States, as well as the stability of its markets, which is why speculative investments like PEPE are some of the first to fall due to selling pressure.
However, it is also worth noting that many investors consider the worst has already passed, which could see the price of Pepe and other meme stocks to rebound fairly soon.
Conclusion
The increasing activity surrounding the trade wars between the United States and China, as well as tariff talks with Mexico and Canada, two of its largest trading partners, has caused the global markets to enter a period of heightened uncertainty, which has especially affected the market in January, which saw most major cryptocurrencies underperforming, while select projects, such as Monero, Onyxcoin and others have posted double-digit returns.
Going forward, the market is likely to rebound as soon as it has fallen, as tariff discussions have slightly died down, while other factors, such as the AI scare towards the end of January, have largely subsided.
Regardless, such rapid declines and reactivity of the markets points to a very high degree of uncertainty, which is also reflected by the Crypto Fear and Greed Index, which has fallen to 45/100, indicating indecision among crypto investors.