Altcoin selling tops $266B as capital rotates out of crypto: Is altseason extinct?

Altcoin spot demand fell to its weakest level in six years while the stablecoin market cap, stocks and AI industry continued to capture investors’ attention.

Altcoin markets (excluding Ether (ETH)) recently saw $266 billion in net selling volume on centralized exchanges, the deepest reading since the metric began tracking spot demand in 2020.

Altcoins accounted for 51% of Binance futures trading volume on June 16, compared with 28.85% for Bitcoin and 20.20% for Ether, positioning the exchange as a leader in derivatives activity in 2026.

The divergence between record selling and dominant trading activity points to capital rotating within crypto and also into alternative exchange products.

Crypto analyst IT Tech noted that the one-year cumulative buy-sell difference for altcoins, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH), dropped to -$266 billion on June 16.

One-year cumulative buy-sell volume for altcoins. Source: CryptoQuant 

The current readings show that selling pressure has outweighed buying demand for an extended period, pushing the cumulative balance to a new low.

However, altcoin trading activity tells a different story. Data shows altcoins accounted for 51% of daily futures trading volume on June 16, compared with 28.85% for Bitcoin and 20.20% for Ether. Altcoins have led exchange trading volumes for most of 2025, aside from a brief period in February when Bitcoin overtook the sector.

Volume dominance between BTC, ETH, and altcoins. Source: CryptoQuant

The combination of elevated futures trading activity and deeply negative spot demand points to capital recycling within the altcoin market rather than fresh spot inflows. This shows investors continuing to trade altcoins, although aggregate spot purchases have not kept pace with the selling volume.

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Market analyst MorenoDV indicated that exchange stablecoin balances have changed little since December 2024. The exchange supply ratio for ERC-20 stablecoins has fluctuated between 0.40 and 0.46, meaning roughly 40% to 46% of circulating stablecoins have stayed on exchanges for more than a year.