The altcoin market has a problem, and it’s not a new one. According to an analysis by CryptoQuant contributor IT Tech, the cumulative buy/sell volume difference for altcoins (excluding Bitcoin and Ethereum) hit a five-year extreme of roughly -$209 billion by mid-June 2026. That number has since pushed even lower into early July.
In plain terms: sellers have been winning, consistently, for a very long time. Net selling on spot exchanges has now run for over 15 consecutive months, starting in early 2025 and showing no meaningful signs of reversal as of July 3, 2026.
What the numbers actually mean
The broader market snapshot from June 2026 reinforces the picture. Some 82% of the top 100 cryptocurrencies closed the month in negative territory.
CryptoQuant’s analysis frames the current reading as a signal worth taking seriously. Protracted selling without a meaningful bounce indicates a structural imbalance, not just short-term noise.
