Altcoins Register $209B Net Selling Pressure
Since January 2025, the altcoin market, excluding Ether, has recorded a staggering $209 billion in net selling volume. This cumulative buy-sell difference, which measures net spot demand on centralized exchanges, highlights a prolonged 13-month period of capital outflow. A negative value of this magnitude indicates a severe absence of consistent spot buyers and reflects a deep contraction in speculative demand for smaller crypto assets. This metric tracks net flow imbalance rather than price valuation, suggesting capital has steadily exited the altcoin ecosystem without significant counter-flows to absorb the selling pressure.
Bitcoin Volume Share Reaches 36.8% on Binance
The shift away from altcoins is starkly visible in trading volume data from Binance. As Bitcoin tested the $60,000 support level in early February, its share of total trading volume on the exchange climbed to 36.8% on February 7. Concurrently, altcoin volume share plummeted to 33.6% by mid-February, a sharp decline from its 59.2% high in November 2025. According to analysts, this type of capital rotation into Bitcoin is a recurring pattern observed during corrective market phases, including in April 2025 and October 2022, as investors consolidate into the market's primary asset.
Tether Dominance Hits 8%, Mirroring Past Downturns
Further reinforcing the risk-off sentiment, Tether's (USDT) market capitalization dominance has reached 8%. This level mirrors the highs seen between June 2022 and October 2023, a period characterized by Bitcoin consolidating near bear market lows. Rising stablecoin dominance signifies that capital is moving into dollar-pegged assets rather than being deployed into riskier tokens. Historically, a decline in USDT dominance has been an early signal of renewed bullish momentum. Lows of around 3.8-4% in March 2024 and October 2025 coincided with Bitcoin achieving new all-time highs, suggesting the current high dominance level is a key indicator of market caution.
Edgen Crypto·Feb 18 2026, 22:18
