Altcoin sell pressure hits multi-year low as 15 months of relentless distribution grinds on

If you’ve been waiting for altseason, you might want to pull up a chair. The data says you could be waiting a while.

CryptoQuant analyst IT Tech flagged a striking trend in altcoin spot trading activity: the cumulative buy/sell volume difference for altcoins, excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, dropped to a fresh multi-year low in early July. The metric had already touched a five-year extreme in June, and it’s kept falling since. In other words, sellers have been dominating buyers on spot exchanges for over 15 consecutive months with no signs of letting up.

The numbers paint an ugly picture

The cumulative buy/sell volume difference tracks whether more volume on spot exchanges is hitting the bid (selling) or lifting the ask (buying) across the altcoin market. When the number goes negative, it means sellers are in control. When it craters to roughly -$209 billion, it means sellers have been in control for a very, very long time.

That -$209 billion figure, reached in June, represents the most negative reading since CryptoQuant began tracking the metric in 2020. Back in January 2025, the metric was hovering near zero, a relatively balanced state between buyers and sellers. Since then, it’s been a one-way trip south. IT Tech described the pattern bluntly: “just distribution” with “no floor” present.

What’s driving the exodus

The analysis from CryptoQuant focused on aggregated altcoin spot trading activity rather than singling out specific tokens or protocols. This isn’t a story about one project imploding. It’s a story about broad-based retreat from the altcoin market as a category.

Research discussed in parallel by CryptoQuant touched on realized losses and demand contraction for Bitcoin during the same timeframe, but the dynamics are distinct.

What this means for investors

The CryptoQuant data suggests buyers are nowhere to be found. With spot demand firmly negative and the cumulative volume difference still declining into July, the conditions for a broad altcoin rally simply aren’t present. IT Tech’s characterization of “just distribution” reflects what the volume data literally shows: a market where holders are systematically reducing exposure without any corresponding wave of new demand to absorb the selling.

Investors watching this space should pay close attention to whether the cumulative metric begins to flatten. A move from accelerating declines to mere stagnation would itself be a signal, suggesting sellers are running out of inventory or buyers are starting to nibble. But the gap between -$209 billion and zero is a long road back.

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