Altcoin holders moved coins onto exchanges at the fastest pace in nearly a year in late September, a shift that onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant flagged as potential selling pressure. According to Cointelegraph, the seven-day count of altcoin deposit transactions on tracked exchanges reached 78,000 on Sept. 28, up about 160% from roughly 29,800 on Sept. 14.
CryptoQuant published the findings in its weekly report released Tuesday. The number of addresses sending altcoins to exchanges rose from around 17,600 to 51,600 across the same two-week window, which the platform said was also the highest tally since October 2025. CryptoQuant described the increase in exchange inflows as broad-based and noted that the deposit and address counts were last this high when Bitcoin set its most recent all-time high.
Key facts
- The seven-day altcoin deposit transaction count hit 78,000 on Sept. 28, up about 160% from around 29,800 on Sept. 14, per CryptoQuant.
- Depositing addresses nearly tripled in those two weeks, from about 17,600 to 51,600, the highest since October 2025.
- Cryptobriefing reported that weekly average altitude deposit counts on Binance climbed above 22,700 and Coinbase exceeded 8,300, plus roughly 32,000 additional transactions across other platforms.
- Bitcoin’s share of total crypto market capitalization held between 58% and 60.4% since May 27, standing below 60%, according to TradingView data cited by Cointelegraph.
- Crypto assets outside the top 10 by market cap accounted for 9% of the total on Sept. 27, their highest share since February.
Where the inflows are landing
Cryptobriefing, which also covered the CryptoQuant data, put the deposit activity in more granular terms: Binance weekly averages above 22,700 and Coinbase above 8,300, with roughly 32,000 transactions spread across other venues. The two reports agree on the direction and scale of the surge; the exchange-level breakdown comes only from Cryptobriefing. That both major platforms saw elevated activity at the same time, Cryptobriefing noted, points to a broad behavioral shift rather than a regional one.
Cointelegraph reported the deposit spike alongside a broader rotation. Glassnode’s Altcoin Cycle Signal metric, which uses price data for the 250 largest altcoins excluding stablecoins, favored altcoins over Bitcoin the prior week. On the market-cap side, Bitcoin dominance stood below 60% and has stayed in a 58% to 60.4% band since May 27, per TradingView. Crypto assets outside the top 10 reached 9% of total market value on Sept. 27, their highest share since February.
Cryptobriefing added context on how strong the underlying market has looked: the Total2 metric, covering all altcoins including Ethereum, absorbed over $371 billion in inflows since June 2026, a 45% rise over roughly four months, and 87% of Binance-listed altcoins now trade above their 200-day moving averages, up from 13% in August 2026. It also flagged a bearish RSI divergence on Total2, where market cap makes higher highs while momentum makes lower highs, and noted that Julio Moreno, head of research at CryptoQuant, pointed to similar deposit spikes historically preceding significant market volatility.
The same report noted that daily deposit transactions peaked at nearly 45,000 in July 2026, meaning the current activity remains below that bull-cycle high. Cointelegraph separately reported that Bitcoin briefly topped $87,000 last week for the first time since January before pulling back, with exchange order-book liquidity and long-term holder supply cited as possible obstacles to further short-term gains.
Why it matters
Deposits to exchanges are one of the more direct onchain signals of holder intent, and a jump of this size gives traders a concrete reason to weigh supply hitting order books against the market’s recent strength. The split picture matters too: altcoins outside the top 10 are taking a larger share of total market value while Bitcoin dominance sits in a narrow band, so the pressure point, if it materializes, would land hardest on smaller tokens. For readers holding or trading altcoins, the distinction between profit-taking inside an uptrend and the start of a broader distribution phase is the one that shapes near-term risk.
What to watch
The next set of CryptoQuant weekly deposit figures will show whether the surge is still accelerating toward the July 2026 daily peak of nearly 45,000 transactions or plateauing. Bitcoin’s hold on the 58% to 60.4% dominance band, and whether the Total2 bearish RSI divergence resolves, are the two other data points that will indicate which way the pressure breaks. This article is not financial advice, and crypto markets are volatile and uncertain.
Reported by cointelegraph.com.
Sources: Cointelegraph, Cryptobriefing
