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ZEC $1,410 Altcoin exchange deposit count jumps 160% in 2 weeks
Onchain analytics firm CryptoQuant flagged a 160% surge in altcoin exchange deposit transactions over two weeks, signaling potential rising sell pressure.
Key takeaways
- Deposit surge hit 160%. Altcoin exchange deposit transactions rose 160% from 29,800 on Sept. 14 to 78,000 on Sept. 28.
- Depositing addresses tripled. Addresses sending altcoins to exchanges rose from 17,600 to 51,600 between Sept. 14 and Sept. 28.
- BTC dominance stayed below 60%. Bitcoin's share of total crypto market cap remained between 58% and 60.4% from May 27 through late September.
What happened
Onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant flagged a sharp surge in altcoin exchange deposit activity in its weekly report released September 30. The seven-day count of altcoin deposit transactions on tracked exchanges hit 78,000 on September 28, up roughly 160% from approximately 29,800 on September 14. The number of unique addresses depositing altcoins to exchanges also nearly tripled over the same two-week window, rising from around 17,600 to 51,600, the highest address count since October 2025.
Why it matters
CryptoQuant interprets the surge in exchange deposits as a sign of growing potential sell-side pressure, as holders typically move assets to exchanges with the intent to sell. The broad-based nature of the increase, reflected in the near-tripling of depositing addresses, suggests the trend is not driven by a small number of large wallets. The deposit surge follows recent signs of altcoin outperformance against Bitcoin, including Glassnode's Altcoin Cycle Signal metric favoring altcoins over Bitcoin in the prior week, and Bitcoin's market cap dominance staying below 60% since late May.
What the data shows
Supporting market data shows Bitcoin's share of total crypto market cap stayed between 58% and 60.4% from May 27 through late September, per TradingView data cited by Cointelegraph. Crypto assets outside the top 10 by market cap accounted for 9% of the total crypto market cap on September 27, the highest share for that segment since February.
What is still unclear
- It is not confirmed that the surge in altcoin exchange deposits will lead to widespread selling, as moving tokens to centralized exchanges does not prove holders will execute sales, per U.Today reporting.
Questions readers ask
What caused the 160% jump in altcoin exchange deposits?
The surge was flagged by CryptoQuant in its September 30 weekly report, with the seven-day deposit transaction count hitting 78,000 on September 28, up 160% from 29,800 on September 14. The number of depositing addresses also nearly tripled over the same period.
Does a rise in altcoin exchange deposits mean prices will fall?
CryptoQuant says the increase signals potential rising sell-side pressure, as holders usually move coins to exchanges to sell.
What was Bitcoin's market cap dominance in late September 2026?
Bitcoin's share of total crypto market cap stayed between 58% and 60.4% from May 27 through late September 2026, per TradingView data cited by Cointelegraph.
