Altcoin sell pressure hits a 5-year extreme

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Altcoin investors are dumping on centralized exchanges (CEXs) at a pace not seen in more than five years.

As of June 17, the cumulative buy/sell quote volume difference for altcoins, excluding Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), had fallen to over $250 billion in net selling, according to data from CryptoQuant. As such, altcoin sellers have outnumbered buyers for roughly 17 consecutive months.

Cumulative buy/sell quote volume difference for altcoins. Source: CryptoQuant

The metric climbed steadily through 2024, approaching neutral by mid-January 2025, signaling renewed investor demand after several years of net selling. From that peak, it reversed sharply, with sellers overwhelming buyers in the months since and driving the steepest altcoin capitulation on record.

The intense altcoin selling pressure over the past year and a half May have been due to capital rotation to the artificial intelligence (AI) market. Furthermore, the industry has experienced low demand following the delayed approval of the Clarity Act, a proposed U.S. federal law aimed at regulating crypto assets, which recently cleared the Senate Banking Committee for the floor debate.

What’s next for altcoin market amid extreme sell-off?

The notable altcoin sell-off since early 2025 has fueled the crypto sell-off. Furthermore, the TOTAL3, a measure of crypto market cap excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum, dropped from a peak of about $1.15 trillion to approximately $696.93 billion at press time, as per metrics from TradingView.

TOTAL3 1-day chart. Source: TradingView

Notably, the TOTAL3 accelerated sell-off in late 2025 coincided with aggressive dumping on centralized exchanges. However, the TOTAL3 has been retesting a strong buy wall around $696 billion, which could trigger a fresh wave of altcoin accumulation over the coming months. On the other hand, if the altcoin dumping continues, the TOTAL3 may capitulate further over the near future, thereby worsening the macro bear market.

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