The XRP market has witnessed an unexpected shakeup over the past few days, with Open Interest (OI) plunging over 50% in just one weekend. According to data from Coinglass, XRP’s futures open interest dropped to approximately $4.22 billion as of October 14. This sharp decline signals a negative shift in market sentiment, raising the question about whether XRP’s recent price recovery can hold amid shrinking derivatives activity. 

XRP Open Interest On Exchanges Crashes 50%

The data from Coinglass paints a clear picture of massive deleveraging across the XRP futures market. From September until October 10, XRP’s open interest consistently fluctuated between $7 billion and $9 million, indicating heightened speculative activity. 

However, on October 11, the asset’s open interest crashed from $8.36 billion to $5.12 billion within 24 hours, representing a staggering 38.7% decline. Since then, the total open interest across exchanges has continued to trend downward, settling around $4.22 billion after crashing 50% from $8.36 billion on October 10. 

Binance, the largest exchange for XRP derivatives, mirrored this dramatic correction. Its open interest plummeted from $1.3 billion on October 8 to $607.21 million by October 14, marking a 53.4% collapse. The first major sign of stress appeared when open interest on Binance dropped from $1.27 billion on October 10 to $882.39 million on October 11, marking a roughly 30% loss overnight. Since that steep decline, the exchange has seen little sign of renewed speculative appetite. 

Notably, the decline in XRP exchange open interest coincided with its weekend price crash, when it fell from $2.4 to as low as $0.8 in a single day before rebounding above $1.5. Although XRP has since recovered to $2.46 as of writing, open interest continues to spiral downwards, reflecting a deep shift in market sentiment toward caution and fear. This also suggests that the current XRP price rally is driven more by spot buyers than leveraged traders, indicating that traders who shorted the market are being forced to buy back their positions.  

XRP Price Rally Hinges On $2.65 Breakout

On the technical front, XRP’s daily chart on Binance suggests that the cryptocurrency may be nearing a critical turning point. According to crypto analyst Matthew Dixon, XRP bulls are now testing the $2.65 resistance zone after a significant corrective pattern. 

The analyst’s chart shows that XRP’s recent price action completed a large WXY corrective wave, followed by a sharp rebound from its weekend low. Currently, the cryptocurrency is trading above $2.45, struggling to sustain momentum above the key $2.65 barrier. The analyst has indicated that a successful breakout and retest of this key resistance level could trigger rapid price acceleration, potentially driving XRP toward new all-time highs