The cryptocurrency sector is currently experiencing heightened scarcity among certain altcoins, as the amount held on exchanges drops to
the lowest levels seen in years
.
Pepe
(PEPE),
Chainlink
(LINK), along with another unnamed altcoin, have all shown notable decreases in their available supply on centralized platforms, indicating increased accumulation by both institutions and individual investors. This pattern reflects growing optimism in the market, fueled by Ethereum’s expanding institutional use and advancements in blockchain technology.
Pepe, a token built on Ethereum and categorized as a
meme
coin, has seen its exchange reserves fall to their lowest since 2023, with 86.39 trillion PEPE tokens—roughly 20% of the total supply—currently on exchanges. This reduction points to strong holder commitment, as the number of unique PEPE wallets has climbed from 369,000 to over 491,000 since early 2025. Even after a recent price pullback to levels seen earlier this year, sentiment remains positive, with some forecasting a possible
1,500% increase
to $0.00012 by the start of 2026.
Chainlink (LINK) is also seeing significant accumulation on-chain. Large holders,
as reported by Yahoo Finance
, have been responsible for substantial withdrawals from exchanges, including one address that transferred 771,095
LINK
(valued at $14 million) from Binance. The token’s exchange balance has dropped to 160 million—a 20% decrease since April 2025—while the Holder Accumulation Ratio has reached 98.9%, suggesting nearly all holders are net buyers. Experts see this as a strong indicator of a potential price surge, with short-term projections at $23.61 and mid-term targets at $46.
This scarcity among altcoins is further supported by Ethereum’s increasing appeal to institutions.
Tom Lee’s $320 million Ethereum acquisition
, which brought his total holdings to $9.4 billion, demonstrates renewed faith in the network. Bitmine Immersion Tech, a significant
Ethereum
holder, has grown its reserves to $13.92 billion, marking a 189% rise in profits and accounting for 2.74% of all ETH in circulation.
Institutional staking solutions are also on the rise.
Coinbase and Figment
have introduced staking for
Solana
, Sui, and Avalanche, allowing $2 billion worth of assets to be staked via
Coinbase
Prime. At the same time,
Oracle and IPDN
are pushing forward with real-world asset (RWA) tokenization, with Ethereum leading at $9.6 billion in RWA issuance. These advancements reinforce Ethereum’s position as a core platform for new blockchain applications.
The ongoing reduction in altcoin supplies on exchanges suggests a shift toward longer-term holding strategies, which often precede price surges. For PEPE, technical signals indicate a possible breakout above $0.000015, with market cap targets ranging from $6 billion to $48 billion. Chainlink’s on-chain data and large investor activity further cement its status as a major force in the DeFi oracle space.
Nonetheless, regulatory ambiguity remains a challenge.
Ro Khanna’s suggested prohibition
on
Trump
family crypto trading has led to increased volatility in meme coins such as PEPE and the
official TRUMP
token. While short-term fluctuations may occur, some analysts believe that clearer regulations could eventually draw more institutional investment into the space.
The unprecedented scarcity of altcoins like PEPE and LINK, along with Ethereum’s growing institutional adoption, points to a maturing crypto market where both rarity and utility are key drivers of value. As blockchain technology advances and regulatory guidelines become clearer, these factors could help accelerate mainstream crypto adoption. Investors should keep an eye on on-chain trends and institutional activity for further insights.
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