A warning has emerged that short-term selling pressure could rise as altcoin deposits to exchanges surge.

On Sept. 30 (local time), Cointelegraph reported that on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant said in a recent weekly report that altcoin inflows to exchanges rose to the highest level since October last year.

CryptoQuant data showed the 7-day cumulative number of altcoin deposit transactions stood at 78,000 on Sept. 28. That was up about 160 percent from about 29,800 on Sept. 14. CryptoQuant pointed out that altcoin inflows to exchanges jumped to the highest level since October 2025, when bitcoin hit a record high.

The number of addresses also rose quickly. The number of altcoin deposit addresses increased nearly threefold to 51,600 on Sept. 28 from about 17,600 on Sept. 14. That figure was also the highest since October last year.

CryptoQuant linked the trend to the possibility of selling. It said holders often move coins to exchanges with selling in mind. That means the increase in exchange inflows could be a sign of expanding market supply rather than a simple transfer for storage.

The market move came alongside a recent trend in which altcoins showed relative strength against bitcoin. Last week, Glassnode's altcoin cycle signal pointed to a period favorable to altcoins over bitcoin. The indicator is calculated based on price data for the top 250 altcoins by market value, excluding stablecoins.

Bitcoin, meanwhile, briefly topped $87,000 last week before being pushed back. Bitcoin reclaimed the $87,000 level for the first time since January, but order-book liquidity on exchanges and changes in long-term holder supply were cited as obstacles to further short-term gains.

Market-share trends are also shifting. Bitcoin dominance stayed below 60 percent, based on TradingView data. Since May 27, bitcoin dominance has moved between 58 percent and 60.4 percent. The share of cryptocurrencies outside the top 10 by market value in the overall market rose to 9 percent on Sept. 27. That was the highest since February.

In this situation, the rise in altcoin inflows to exchanges is being read not as a signal that price strength will extend, but as an indicator to check the possibility of profit-taking. Even if altcoin strength continues, whether inflows into exchanges translate into actual selling and whether bitcoin dominance falls further remain key short-term variables for the market.