Altcoin Deposits Spike Ahead of Market Pullback

Altcoin exchange deposits surged ahead of a market pullback, signaling potential profit-taking as the seven-day rolling count of deposit transactions hit 78,181 on September 30. This marked a 146% spike from mid-September levels and the highest point since October 2025. The number of unique addresses depositing altcoins nearly tripled over the same period, suggesting increased sell-side pressure. The subsequent pullback in altcoin prices was driven by elevated Treasury yields, renewed inflation concerns, and broader profit-taking.

U.S. spot BTC ETFs recorded $241 million in net inflows last week, a sharp decline from the previous week's $2.4 billion. Meanwhile, spot ETH ETFs saw $138 million in net outflows, reversing the prior week's $690 million inflows. The broader market saw mixed results, with the Nasdaq Composite gaining 0.5%, while the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.3% and 1.3%, respectively. The cooling labor market and softer-than-expected nonfarm payrolls eased fears of an immediate Fed rate hike, sparking a Friday rally.

Morgan Stanley established a Digital Asset Lab to test stablecoins and DeFi, aiming to explore tokenized deposits and central bank digital currencies in a controlled environment. In regulatory news, the U.S. CFTC proposed defining event contracts as swaps, while the SEC introduced a 760-page crypto custody rule. The UK FCA opened applications for its new crypto regime, and South Korea advanced tokenized securities rules. Bitwise launched the first U.S. spot NEAR ETF, and MetaMask exited affected Ethereum validators following a staking-security incident.