Amid the ongoing altcoin price squeeze, another metric shows that the market is facing extreme selling pressure. According to a recent tweet by a major on-chain analytics reporter, CryptoQuant, altcoin selling pressure on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges is at a 5-year high, suggesting the bears are maintaining the upper hand for now. The graph shows the relative volume difference between buy and sell orders on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges for altcoins (all cryptocurrencies except BTC and ETH). If the value is positive, it indicates that buy orders exceed sell orders; if negative, that sell orders are dominating the market.
Last 13 months witness $209 billion volume difference between buy and sell orders. Upon closer inspection, the last 13 months have seen continuous selling activity on major crypto exchanges, with a cumulative $209 billion difference in buy/sell volume. Given that the current altcoin market capitalization is close to $171 billion, the statistic suggests the secondary market is entrenched in deep bearish territory. Retail is out. Smart money rotated. No institutional alt accumulation in sight.
This is not a dip. It’s 13 months of continuous net selling on CEX spot. -209B doesn’t mean bottom. It means buyers are gone. While many of the top coins, including XRP, SOL, DOGE, and others, now have their spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), institutional accumulation is nowhere to be seen. Therefore, the analyst is compelled to argue that this is not an ongoing dip but a fundamental structural realignment in which alts aren’t significant stakeholders.
Amid an ongoing altcoin price squeeze, a prominent on-chain metric shows extreme selling pressure across centralized exchanges. CryptoQuant reports that altcoin selling pressure on CEXs has reached a five-year high, indicating bears continue to hold the upper hand. The metric tracks the relative volume difference between buy and sell orders for altcoins, where a positive value means more buying than selling. Over the last 13 months, the total buy/sell volume difference stands at about $209 billion, reflecting persistent selling pressure.
With current altcoin market capitalization near $171 billion, the data suggests the secondary market remains deeply bearish. Retail participation has faded and smart money rotated away; institutional altcoin accumulation is not evident. This is not a dip but 13 months of continuous net selling on spot markets, indicating buyers are currently scarce. Even as top coins like XRP, SOL, and DOGE have spot ETFs, institutional uptake is not visible, reinforcing the view of a structural realignment in which alts are not major stakeholders.
The -$209 billion balance does not indicate an imminent bottom, but rather a market landscape where buyers are largely absent. Analysts caution that while ETFs exist for some leading coins, the lack of institutional demand points to a persistent bearish regime in the altcoin space.














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