Ethereum Outflow Charts Revised After Coin Metrics Updates Historical Flow Metrics

Coin Metrics revises Ethereum’s historical flow data

Coin Metrics announced on Oct. 1 at 17:04 UTC that it has rebuilt Ethereum’s Standard Flow Metrics from the network’s first block using the latest address information. The recomputation, outlined on Sept. 28 and completed on Sept. 30, affects all ETH flow metrics at daily and hourly frequencies and provides corrected history for backfilling. The provider’s notice does not quantify the revision size or compare ETH strategy performance.

Standard vs. Point‑in‑Time metrics

Standard metrics use every address currently known to belong to an exchange or other tracked entity. When additional entity addresses are discovered, past Standard values can be restated because each address’s history starts at its first non‑zero balance. Point‑in‑Time (PIT) series, by contrast, use addresses known to belong to the entity during the historical interval. An address contributes only from its discovery date, and later discoveries do not rewrite earlier PIT intervals. Coin Metrics publishes daily and hourly PIT counterparts to the Standard exchange‑flow metrics.

Implications for backtesting

The revision creates a data‑vintage issue: a backtest that replays a trading rule needs the information available when each decision would have occurred. A chart downloaded today can describe past flows using knowledge acquired later, which differs from the information set a trader could have used. CryptoQuant’s ETH Exchange Flows documentation explicitly warns that its endpoint does not support PIT accuracy and that historical values may change as exchange wallets are discovered, added, and validated through periodic clustering updates. Glassnode illustrated the problem with a BTC backtest that showed worse performance when PIT balances were used versus revised Standard balances, while keeping the signal logic and fees unchanged. ETH signal and return effects require their own experiment.

Coverage timeline

PIT history exists only from the date tracking began for each metric. Before July 2025, coverage was limited to BTC, ETH, and selected tokens and metrics. Full platform coverage for all metrics started in July 2025, and a metric added then does not acquire earlier PIT observations merely because regular historical data exists. Computed_at timestamps have been recorded since September 2024, with API publication following computation and a delay.

Source: CryptoSlate