SOL, BNB, XRP Sell Pressure at 5-Year High as No Signs of Institutional Altcoin Accumulation ⋆ ZyCrypto

Amid the ongoing altcoin price squeeze, another metric shows that the market is facing extreme selling pressure. According to a recent tweet by a major on-chain analytics reporter, CryptoQuant, altcoin selling pressure on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges is at a 5-year high, suggesting the bears are maintaining the upper hand for now.

CryptoQuant’s official handle tweeted:

The graph shows the relative volume difference between buy and sell orders on centralized cryptocurrency exchanges for altcoins (all cryptocurrencies except BTC and ETH). If the value is positive, it indicates that buy orders exceed sell orders; if negative, that sell orders are dominating the market.

Last 13 Months Witness $209 Billion Volume Difference between Buy/Sell Orders

Upon closer inspection, the last 13 months have seen continuous selling activity on major crypto exchanges, with a cumulative $209 billion difference in buy/sell volume. Given that the current altcoin market capitalization is close to $171 billion, the statistic suggests the secondary market is entrenched in deep bearish territory.

According to an insight by IT Tech:

“- Cumulative Buy/Sell Diff (alts, ex-BTC/ETH): -209B

– Jan 2025: near zero – last time demand matched supply

– Since then: -209B in 13 months. One direction only.

– BTC at 68.8K. Down from 125K+ ATH in Oct 2025.

Retail is out. Smart money rotated. No institutional alt accumulation in sight.

This is not a dip. It’s 13 months of continuous net selling on CEX spot.

-209B doesn’t mean bottom. It means buyers are gone.”

While many of the top coins, including XRP, SOL, DOGE, and others, now have their spot Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), institutional accumulation is nowhere to be seen. Therefore, the analyst is compelled to argue that this is not an ongoing dip but a fundamental structural realignment in which alts aren’t significant stakeholders.

Twitterati Responds

While the graph paints a damning picture of the altcoin market’s future, some users were optimistic, while others agreed with the take. 

One user replied:

Another quipped:

However, selling pressure alone doesn’t determine a sector’s long-term outlook. Another major disappointment for alts is the clear lack of an altcoin season during this cycle. While BTC, ETH, and BNB have set new ATHs, the rest of the altcoin market has struggled to post major price recoveries, let alone set new ATHs.