Altcoins, excluding Ether (ETH), have seen $209 billion in net sales volume since January 2025, marking one of the steepest declines in speculative demand for crypto assets this cycle.
On Binance, altcoin trading volume has declined by approximately 50% since November 2025, reflecting a steady decline in activity. The decline also coincides with an boost in Bitcoin’s volume share on the stock exchange.
Analysts say the decline in demand for altcoins, coupled with the increased dominance of stablecoins, signals that the broader market is shifting its capital towards BTC during the current downtrend.
Altcoin spot volume imbalance widens relative to Bitcoin
IT Tech cryptocurrency analyst excellent that the cumulative difference in altcoin purchases and sales, excluding BTC and Ether (ETH), reached -$209 billion. The indicator measures net spot demand on centralized exchanges for altcoin trading pairs. The positive reading indicates rising spot demand, which was briefly observed in January 2025.
A negative cumulative delta on this scale signals a lack of consistent spot buyers. The analyst noted that this metric tracks net flow imbalances, not price valuations, so it does not indicate a market bottom. Over the past 13 months, capital has exited altcoin markets without significant counterflows.
Volume data from Binance reinforces this change. When BTC tested the $60,000 level in early February, total trading volume was redistributed. On February 7, Bitcoin volume increased to 36.8% of total activity. Altcoin volume dropped to 33.6% by mid-February from a high of 59.2% in November.
According to a cryptocurrency analyst Murky Fostsimilar rotations occurred in April 2025, August 2024, and October 2022. During these recovery phases, capital consolidated in Bitcoin while altcoin volumes declined.
Related: Up-to-date Bitcoin Whales Are Trapped Underwater, But For How Long?
Tether’s dominance has reached an all-time high
Tether’s market capitalization dominance in USDt (USDT) has reached 8% on the weekly chart, equaling previous highs that lasted from June 2022 to October 2023. The growing dominance of stablecoins usually coincides with a shift of capital into dollar-pegged assets rather than tokens such as BTC (BTC) and Ether (ETH).
As observed, the increased dominance of USDT coincided with Bitcoin’s consolidation near the bear market lows seen in 2022 and 2023. The decline in dominance has often marked one of the earliest signals of a renewed bullish trend.
Previously, the USDT dominance chart made lows around 3.80-4% in March 2024, December 2024, and October 2025. These periods coincided with Bitcoin establishing up-to-date all-time highs near $72,000, $104,000, and $126,000, respectively.
Related: Wells Fargo Sees ‘YOLO’ Trading Drowning $150 Billion into Bitcoin and Risky Assets
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