Altcoin Rally at Risk as Exchange Deposits Surge 160%

The recent altcoin rally is facing a potential supply problem as exchange deposits surge by 160% in just two weeks. According to CryptoQuant data, there were approximately 78,000 transactions involving altcoins on September 28, compared to 29,800 on September 14. This marks the highest reading since October 2025.

The number of depositing addresses nearly tripled from 17,600 to around 51,600, suggesting that the increase is broad and not just caused by a few large wallets.

This development creates an uncomfortable backdrop for some of September's strongest performers. Near Protocol ($NEAR) has gained approximately 21.7% over seven days, trading at $5.29. Stellar ($XLM) remains up around 9.9% for the week at $0.2236, while XRP trades at $1.48 after its own substantial September advance.

CryptoQuant interprets the surge as evidence of increasing potential sell-side pressure. There are already signs that momentum is becoming less uniform. Despite their strong weekly performances, $NEAR and $XLM are down around 2.9% and 1.5% over the latest 24-hour period, respectively, while XRP has fallen by 1.2%.

The broader environment also warrants caution. CryptoQuant data indicates that Bitcoin spot demand contracted by roughly 170,000 BTC over 30 days, while growth in speculative futures demand dropped about 90% between September 14 and September 29. Recent Bitcoin buyers were sitting on average unrealized profits of around 33%.