Crypto liquidity stopped spreading across the market in 2025 and instead clustered around bitcoin and ether, according to a new over-the-counter trading report from Wintermute.
Wintermute said the market structure shifted away from broad-based altcoin participation towards a smaller group of large-cap tokens.
The firm noted that capital flows in 2025 broke from previous cycle playbooks that relied on wide liquidity dispersion.
Capital no longer spreads broadly across the market.
Wintermute said in its 2025 digital asset OTC report.
The report added that liquidity has become more concentrated and unevenly distributed across fewer assets.
Wintermute said performance is now increasingly determined by where capital enters the market and how it is deployed.
Exchange-traded funds and digital asset treasury companies were identified as major drivers of liquidity concentration.
The firm said these vehicles have increasingly funnelled capital into major tokens, limiting activity elsewhere.
Wintermute reported that median altcoin narrative rallies shortened significantly during the year.