Altcoin spot sellers have outweighed buyers for more than 15 straight months, and CryptoQuant's cumulative buy/sell volume difference has fallen to roughly -$209 billion — its deepest negative reading since the metric began in 2020. The gauge slid to a fresh multi-year low in early July, leaving little sign of the demand a broad rally would need.
Sellers have controlled the altcoin spot market for over 15 consecutive months, and the pressure shows no sign of letting up. CryptoQuant analyst IT Tech flagged that the cumulative buy/sell volume difference for altcoins, excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, dropped to a fresh multi-year low in early July after touching a five-year extreme in June.
Distribution with no floor
The cumulative buy/sell volume difference tracks whether more volume on spot exchanges is hitting the bid or lifting the ask across the altcoin market. When the reading turns negative, sellers are in control. That -$209 billion figure, reached in June, marks the most negative reading since CryptoQuant began tracking the metric in 2020.
Back in January 2025, the metric hovered near zero, a relatively balanced state between buyers and sellers, before turning into a one-way trip south. IT Tech described the pattern as "just distribution" with no floor present.
A category-wide retreat
The analysis focused on aggregated altcoin spot activity rather than singling out specific tokens or protocols, so this is not about one project imploding. Instead, it points to a broad-based retreat from the altcoin market as a category. CryptoQuant separately discussed realized losses and demand contraction for Bitcoin over the same timeframe, but those dynamics are distinct.
With spot demand firmly negative and the gauge still declining into July, the conditions for a broad altcoin rally are not present. IT Tech's read reflects a market where holders keep reducing exposure without new demand to absorb the selling. The signal to watch is whether the cumulative metric flattens — a shift from accelerating declines to stagnation would suggest sellers are running low on inventory or buyers are starting to return.
Source: Crypto Briefing
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