Derivative activity on Ripple [XRP] is increasing dramatically even though the price for XRP is weakening. This divergence creates an increasingly large gap between the amount of leverage used and the current trend in the market.
Binance Open Interest (OI) has jumped from roughly $360 million in early August to $461.3 million, representing the highest OI value since early July. Despite that boom, XRP’s price slipped toward $0.992 after trading above $1.10 in late July.
This divergence suggests that rather than following an established recovery, traders are committing more capital despite price action remaining weak. As leverage accumulates near the psychological $1 level, smaller price moves can trigger larger liquidations and accelerate volatility.
However, OI does not reveal whether longs or shorts dominate. A sustained move above $1 alongside expanding OI would improve momentum.
Conversely, continued weakness with elevated leverage could force positions out rapidly, making funding rates and directional positioning crucial next indicators.
XRP exchange withdrawals deepen
XRP’s increasing leverage in derivatives markets now meets a contrasting trend in spot markets. This is as a result of exchange wallet activity increasingly favoring withdrawals.
According to CryptoQuant data, Coinbase represents nearly half of all XRP exchange volume traded on exchanges. However, since the 28th of February, the U.S.-based exchange Coinbase leads this shift at -14,300 net wallets.
This means withdrawals have outpaced deposits for XRP on Coinbase. Meanwhile, both Binance and Crypto.com have reported a net decrease in active user accounts since the 27th of March, indicating this trend may be occurring at other large trading platforms.
Although Coinbase dominates 47.3% of all XRP exchange activity, Upbit’s share has dropped sharply from 40% to just 12%. This indicates there is a possible geographic as well as market-wide shift.
For XRP near $1, sustained withdrawals could gradually reduce readily tradable supply and ease one source of selling pressure.
However, this becomes apparent if exchange balances also decline, thus proving that withdrawn XRP is no longer being used in local circulation.
