XRP traded near $1.91 on Thursday as futures open interest declined to approximately $3.4 billion from recent highs, reflecting reduced retail participation despite continued institutional buying through exchange-traded products.
The Federal Reserve maintained interest rates at 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent following Wednesday's policy meeting, extending a pause after three consecutive cuts in late 2025.
Retail Participation Declines
Futures open interest dropped from approximately $4.55 billion in early January to current levels near $3.4 billion, according to derivatives data tracking multiple exchanges.
Declining open interest typically indicates traders closing existing positions rather than establishing new ones, potentially limiting near-term upside momentum.
The contraction followed liquidation events that exceeded $22 million in long positions on a single day earlier this month, the largest such episode in 30 days.
Open interest reached $965 million at one point in late January before recovering to current levels still well below January's peaks.
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ETF Divergence Pattern
XRP exchange-traded funds absorbed approximately $1.27 billion in cumulative capital since launching in November 2025, maintaining demand through volatile January trading that saw Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs record $1.38 billion in net outflows.
Total assets under management across seven U.S.-listed XRP ETFs reached approximately $1.51 billion by mid-January with over 788 million XRP locked in custody.
The products demonstrated institutional demand patterns distinct from Bitcoin and Ethereum funds, which experienced significant redemptions during the same period.
Technical Structure
XRP remained below the 50-day exponential moving average at approximately $2.01 on daily charts, with additional resistance at the 100-day level near $2.14 and 200-day average around $2.28. The Relative Strength Index declined toward 40, approaching territory where accelerated selling pressure historically emerges.
Support levels exist at recent lows near $1.81 and longer-term demand zones around $1.61. Technical breakout requires sustained volume above the $2.01 resistance, though broader market conditions and derivatives positioning suggest range-bound trading may persist near-term.
The divergence between declining derivatives activity and persistent ETF demand reflects institutional adoption proceeding independently of leveraged speculation, though price action remains constrained by technical overhead resistance and broader macroeconomic conditions limiting risk asset liquidity.
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