Altcoin buying momentum is fading fast as cryptocurrency spot trading volumes continue to shrink, showing weak participation and limited risk appetite across the market. According to a new report from independent analyst Markus Thielen, daily Binance spot volume has collapsed from an average of $41 billion in December 2024 to $26.6 billion in October 2025, and most recently to just $8 billion over the past 30 days.
The chart tracking BTC funding rate against Binance spot volume shows a clear contraction in activity alongside persistently low funding rates, reflecting subdued trader conviction. Spot volumes serve as a leading indicator for altcoin performance, and the current contraction helps explain the persistent weakness and muted price action in most alternative coins.
📊Today’s #BIT Daily Chart – April 7, 2026 ⬇️
Altcoin Buying Momentum Fades as Volume Contracts#BIT #Crypto #Altcoins #CryptoMarket #SpotVolume pic.twitter.com/WluQviNzAk
— BIT Official (@BITofficial_EN) April 7, 2026
Volume contraction limits altcoin upside
Altcoin momentum is slowing down, with trading volumes dropping sharply from $41B to about $8B. This shows weaker buying interest and a possible pause in the market rally. Instead of a broad rise, money is moving into a few strong projects like Solana, Dogecoin, and AI tokens. Overall, investors are becoming more cautious due to profit-taking and global economic risks.
According to Thielen, an upturn in the altcoin space will likely need an acceleration of volumes before it occurs. Otherwise, potential gains will remain limited. As indicated by the chart, volume distribution is growing more clustered and less diverse over time, making it harder for broad rallies to occur and leading to potential underperformance.
No clear catalyst in sight
According to Thielen, an upturn in the altcoin space will likely need an acceleration of volumes before it occurs. Otherwise, potential gains will remain limited. As indicated by the chart, volume distribution is growing more clustered and less diverse over time, making it harder for broad rallies to occur and leading to potential underperformance.
With no fresh catalysts to stimulate new flows and trading activity within the network, it looks like the situation will not change soon. In such circumstances, altcoins find it difficult to compete for attention with Bitcoin. According to Thielen, the current state of play makes a cautious approach more sensible.
Notably, Altcoins remain trapped in a persistent mean-reversion cycle with little sign of the long-awaited breakout rally. The analysis shows the altcoin market cap repeatedly oscillating around its 90-day moving average, never sustaining a meaningful distance above it, even during brief spikes.
Enjoyed this piece? Bookmark DeFi Planet, explore related topics, and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, Threads and CoinMarketCap Community for seamless access to high-quality industry insights.
“Take control of your crypto portfolio with MARKETS PRO, DeFi Planet’s suite of analytics tools.”
