Stablecoin supply falls $14.2 billion as crypto liquidity tightens

Stablecoin supply fell $14.2 billion over 30 days, the fastest contraction since June 2022, Glassnode said in its November 11, 2026 “Running on Empty” report. Redemptions from US spot ETFs and a negative 30-day Coinbase Premium pointed to weak demand for crypto assets.

The report attributed the supply contraction to holders redeeming tokens for dollars and withdrawing cash from crypto markets. Stablecoins represent funds held on exchanges and on-chain ahead of crypto purchases. Their decline therefore reduced the cash pool available to support buying, according to Glassnode. Tether also traded slightly below $1, which the report read as the same pressure.

How deep was the ETF outflow?

US spot ETFs recorded $1.6 billion in net outflows over 20 sessions. On November 9, cumulative withdrawals crossed Glassnode’s $1.5 billion threshold for identifying an outflow stretch. Glassnode said this episode remained relatively shallow compared with most previous stretches.

That distinction matters for how investors interpret the flow data. In earlier episodes, inflows resumed only after Bitcoin reached its low. Renewed ETF buying at that stage acted as retrospective confirmation of a bottom, Glassnode said, rather than serving as an independent warning that the low had arrived.

The present outflows had crossed the report’s threshold, but Glassnode still classified the episode as relatively shallow compared with most prior stretches.

What does the Coinbase Premium show?

The Coinbase Premium compares Bitcoin prices on Coinbase, a major venue for US investors, with prices in the global market. On a 30-day average, it stayed negative throughout the decline from the September high. The discount was the deepest since February, according to Glassnode.

A negative reading means the Coinbase market price sat below the global comparison price over the measured period, a sign of weaker US demand. Glassnode adjusted the premium to remove distortion caused by Tether trading below $1, which otherwise would exaggerate the discount. The adjusted measure still registered the weakest discount since February.

Previous rallies featured a positive premium because US investors paid more for Bitcoin on Coinbase than the global market. That buying pressure was absent during this decline. Glassnode said the premium must turn positive and remain there for weeks before it would indicate “a recovery in US demand.”

A brief positive reading would therefore fall short of the report’s confirmation standard.

What would signal fresh liquidity?

Glassnode identified a return to growth in the 30-day stablecoin supply change as the first signal. The company described that condition as “an initial signal of fresh capital entering the market.”

Because stablecoin balances represent dollars held on exchanges and on-chain before crypto purchases, renewed growth would point to capital returning to the market’s liquidity base rather than only to a change in trading demand.

The stablecoin and ETF measures cover different parts of the flow picture. The supply contraction captures dollars leaving stablecoins and crypto venues, while the $1.6 billion in ETF outflows captures redemptions from a narrower US investment channel. The Coinbase Premium adds a pricing signal from US demand.

Glassnode’s report used all three because the contraction combined redemptions, cash withdrawals and weak US buying.

The next market-structure change to watch is whether stablecoin supply resumes growth and the ETF outflow stretch stops deepening. A positive Coinbase Premium that holds for weeks would supply the separate confirmation that US demand has recovered; without those shifts, Glassnode’s report does not show liquidity returning to crypto markets.