Altcoin Exchange Deposits Surge 160%, Signaling Potential Selling Wave
Altcoin deposits flowing to cryptocurrency exchanges have reached their highest levels since October 2025, with transaction volumes and active addresses nearly tripling as holders prepare potential liquidations, according to CryptoQuant data.
Altcoin Exchange Deposits Hit Nearly Year-High Levels
Onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant has identified a significant acceleration in altcoin deposits flowing to cryptocurrency exchanges, indicating potential selling pressure across the digital asset sector. The seven-day count of altcoin deposit transactions reached 78,000 during the period ending September 28—representing a remarkable 160% surge from approximately 29,800 transactions recorded on September 14. According to CryptoQuant, this volume marks the highest activity level since October 2025, the period when Bitcoin achieved its previous all-time high.
Depositing Addresses Nearly Triple, Suggesting Coordinated Repositioning
Beyond transaction volume, the number of distinct addresses moving altcoins to exchanges nearly tripled during the same two-week window, climbing from approximately 17,600 to 51,600. CryptoQuant noted that this address count similarly reached its highest level since October 2025, reflecting broad-based participation across the altcoin ecosystem rather than isolated whale activity. The platform emphasized that when cryptocurrency holders transfer coins to exchanges, they typically intend to liquidate positions. CryptoQuant characterized the increase as broad-based, affecting multiple altcoins and suggesting coordinated repositioning activity rather than concentrated selling by a small number of actors.
Altcoin Outperformance Tested Against Growing Liquidation Pressure
The deposit surge emerges during a period of relative altcoin strength compared to Bitcoin. Glassnode’s Altcoin Cycle Signal metric, which measures price performance across the 250 largest altcoins by market capitalization while excluding stablecoins, recently favored altcoin returns. Bitcoin’s share of total cryptocurrency market capitalization has declined to below 60%, remaining constrained between 58% and 60.4% since late May. Altcoins positioned outside the top ten by market cap have captured an expanding share of broader market value, commanding 9% of total crypto market capitalization on September 27—their highest proportion since February. Meanwhile, Bitcoin itself pulled back from a brief test of $87,000 last week, marking the asset’s first approach to that level since January, as technical headwinds including order-book liquidity shifts and long-term holder supply constraints have emerged.
The current surge in altcoin deposits to exchanges represents a crucial test for whether the sector’s recent outperformance relative to Bitcoin can withstand mounting liquidation pressure.
Source: CryptoQuant, via Cointelegraph. Not financial advice.