Investors Brace for Fed Pivot as BTC & ETH Outflows Contrast Stablecoin Surge: CryptoQuant

Crypto markets are closely watching the ￰0￱ Reserve as speculation grows over a potential interest rate cut, reports ￰1￱ await Fed ￰2￱ inflows hit 25K, a 1-year low, with ￰3￱ size halved since ￰4￱ deposits climb while altcoin inflows signal ￰5￱ — ￰6￱ (@cryptoquant_com) September 16, 2025 On-chain data from the firm this week paints a mixed picture of investor sentiment, with liquidity signals diverging across major ￰7￱ Bitcoin and Ethereum exchange inflows are sliding to multi-month lows, stablecoin deposits are climbing, suggesting traders are preparing dry powder for the possibility of a policy pivot. meanwhile, altcoin inflows are rising, hinting at either profit-taking or rotation into higher-risk tokens, reports ￰8￱ Inflows Decline Bitcoin exchange inflows have dropped to their lowest levels in more than a ￰9￱ 7-day moving average now stands at 25,000 BTC, down from 51,000 BTC recorded in ￰10￱ the same time, the average deposit size per transaction has halved, falling from 1.14 BTC in mid-July to just 0.57 BTC in ￰11￱ analysts say this indicates reduced selling pressure from larger holders, with long-term investors showing little desire to exit positions ahead of the Fed’s ￰12￱ Tracks Similar Trend Ethereum is mirroring Bitcoin’s subdued exchange ￰13￱ inflows have fallen to a two-month low, with the 7-day average declining to 783,000 ETH, compared with 1.8 million ETH as recently as ￰14￱ sizes are also shrinking, with the average transaction dropping from 40–45 ETH at earlier peaks to around 30 ETH ￰15￱ together, the trend reflects muted sell-side activity, echoing Bitcoin’s low inflows and reinforcing the view that investors are reluctant to liquidate major holdings before a possible macro ￰16￱ Deposits Surge In contrast, stablecoins are showing a surge of inflows, particularly Tether (USDT).

Net deposits reached $379 million on August 31, the highest level year-to-date, before easing to around $200 million more ￰17￱ so, the daily average USDT deposit has more than doubled, from $63,000 in July to $130,000 ￰18￱ sharp uptick implies investors are actively moving liquidity onto exchanges, preparing to deploy capital quickly if a favorable Fed outcome sparks a ￰19￱ Activity Picks Up Altcoins are bucking the broader slowdown in ￰20￱ deposits across a basket of non-BTC and ETH tokens have risen to 55,000 (7-day total), compared with the flat 20,000–30,000 range seen in May and ￰21￱ analysts note this increase could reflect heightened selling pressure as investors rotate out of riskier assets, or conversely, growing speculative interest in higher-beta tokens ahead of a potential macro ￰22￱ The Fed’s upcoming announcement is poised to test these liquidity ￰23￱ BTC and ETH inflows suggest conviction among long-term holders, while higher stablecoin deposits highlight a market eager to react ￰24￱ the shift favors blue-chip crypto assets or speculative altcoins will depend heavily on the Fed’s next move.