XRP Open Interest Plummets to 2024 Lows as Speculators Exit Derivatives

Open interest (OI) for Ripple (XRP) on Company Binance has fallen sharply to roughly $453 million, marking its lowest level since the end of 2024. According to data compiled by Company CryptoQuant, this contraction reflects a widespread unwind of leveraged positions and a structural rebalance across XRP's derivatives market.

The earlier part of 2025 saw futures OI for XRP climb repeatedly above $1 billion, a period accompanied by heightened speculative activity and pronounced price rallies. Those peaks signaled heavy reliance on leverage, which in turn increased the market's vulnerability to swift and outsized price moves. A mid-2025 resurgence in OI again illustrated renewed speculative appetite, but the current trajectory shows a sustained decline and a sharper drop to today's levels, implying a significant withdrawal of short-term speculative traders.

Lower OI has tangible implications for price dynamics. With fewer leveraged positions, the market is less prone to cascade-style forced liquidations during sharp moves — a point underscored by the observation that reduced leverage tends to temper extreme volatility driven by margin calls. Nevertheless, the decline in momentum has also removed the liquidity cushion that historically supported breakout moves, producing choppier price action and the absence of clear, liquidity-driven directional impulses.

Technically, XRP has been pressured below several key thresholds. The altcoin slipped beneath support levels at $2.00 and $1.90, trading around $1.87 at the time of the report. Mr. Ali Martinez has warned that a sustained break below $1.90 could open the way for additional downside. At the same time, on-chain signals present a mixed picture: Company Santiment notes that rising bearish sentiment has in past cycles preceded recoveries for XRP, suggesting sentiment depths can set the stage for rebounds.

Complementary data from Company Crypto Whale and spot taker CVD metrics indicate that some large holders may be accumulating, with buying pressure in certain cohorts outpacing selling. If such accumulation continues, it could support price stabilization and eventual recovery in a lower-leverage environment where spot demand, rather than derivatives-driven momentum, dictates trends.

For traders and investors, the shift in market structure calls for recalibrated risk management. In a regime of lower open interest, strategies that rely on leveraged breakout plays face diminished probability of success, while patient, spot-focused accumulation and careful position sizing gain importance. Short-term traders should watch liquidity and order book depth around the $1.80–$2.10 band, and monitor open interest and funding rate trends from Company CryptoQuant to assess whether derivatives participation resumes.

Looking ahead, two scenarios are plausible: a stabilization underpinned by renewed spot accumulation that gradually rebuilds confidence and OI, or continued derisking that pushes prices lower until a clear capitulation and subsequent accumulation phase occur. Regardless, the current environment highlights a transition away from leverage-led rallies toward price discovery driven by fundamental spot demand and large-holder behavior.