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Bitcoin’s +40% rally in Q3 lifted the broader crypto market, triggering renewed appetite for altcoins.
Now, according to Glassnode, altcoins’ spot volume has surged to 4x the size of Bitcoin, a yearly high.
However, such setups can be risky for late altcoin investors chasing the uptrend.
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Spot traders are turning to altcoins. Demand for higher risk like this has often lined up with local tops in $BTC.
Interestingly, a similar setup for a $BTC local top was printed in early and mid-2025 based on this altcoin signal.
In fact, the Futures market also echoed the prevailing strong interest in altcoins, with the segment accounting for 41% market share compared to ETH and $BTC, which had 25% and 35%, respectively.
Notably, the 41% altcoin dominance in Open Interest (OI) was last seen in December 2024. What followed was a $BTC pullback.
This raises an interesting question. Will the recent altcoin momentum lose its steam?
First of all, the market flipped to altcoin season in mid-September, according to the Altcoin Season Index’s (ASI) reading. Over the same period, the altcoin’s market cap tagged $1.2T, up from Q3’s lows of $1T. This translated to a 20% hike.
Several altcoin gems have so far printed triple-digit gains in Q3, led by Pons crypto, Pumpfun [PUMP], Quant [QNT], and Zcash [ZEC].
Now, for these positive altcoin momentum readings to stay that way, stablecoin exchange inflows and the status of altcoin sell-offs could offer better insights.
Unfortunately, according to CryptoQuant data, the altcoin sell-offs also spiked to levels last seen in October 2025. This was illustrated by Altcoins Exchange Inflow, which tracks tokens being sent to platforms for dumping.
In fact, CryptoQuant analyst DarkFrost cited the same to counter Glassnode’s analysis.
Actually, what I saw is that altcoin inflows are surging, which means that selling pressure is increasing on altcoins.
However, from a different point of view, the two datasets pointed to the same insight: Bitcoin local tops coincided with rising altcoin selling pressure.
Another way of evaluating the segment may be via stablecoin reserves. Altcoin sell-offs force holders to dump their stash for stablecoins. So, a rising stablecoin reserve could hint at a spike in altcoin profit-taking.
Interestingly, stablecoin reserves (USDT + USDC) slipped lower despite the recent $BTC drop. It implied $BTC accumulation was still going on during the price decline.
Hence, it’s unclear if this flips the altcoin momentum into a Bitcoin season.
However, if $BTC extends its recovery, altcoins will likely follow suit again. Put differently, the altcoins’ pullback may be a buying opportunity if $BTC lifts them again.
