This Altcoin Rallied 30% as $58 Million in UNI Hit Exchanges: Was It Really Accumulation?

As Uniswap’s UNI token rose 30%, the amount held on exchanges also increased. According to Santiment, this raises questions about whether the rally was driven by accumulation through tokens being withdrawn from exchanges.

According to data shared by Santiment, UNI’s price rose about 30% between September 17 and 22. The amount of UNI on exchanges, meanwhile, increased by 6.3 million tokens between September 17 and 23. At the September 23 closing price, that increase was worth about $58 million.

The $58 million figure is not the total UNI balance on exchanges; it is the dollar value of the 6.3 million-token increase over six days. The data also does not show that this amount was sold.

The rally brought tokens onto exchanges

Santiment noted that the price increase coincided with tokens moving onto exchanges rather than being withdrawn from them. The largest inflows were recorded on September 22 and 23, while UNI closed September 23 down about 10% from the previous day. These movements occurred during the same period; the data alone does not prove that the inflows caused the price decline.

UNI supply on exchanges came within 0.2% of the 60-day high recorded on August 30. As a result, following the rally, the amount of tokens that could be offered for sale on trading platforms again approached its highest level in two months.

Does an exchange deposit mean a decision to sell?

The uncertainty Santiment highlighted is how the UNI deposited on exchanges will be used. The tokens may have been sent there for sale, but they could also be used in hedging transactions or as collateral. Depositing tokens on an exchange indicates supply that could be sold, not a decision to sell.

For this reason, the data does not deliver a definitive bearish prediction: As exchange supply grows while the price rises, it becomes harder to interpret the rally as an accumulation move directly supported by tokens being withdrawn from exchanges.