XRP Leverage Drops 15% as Whale Holders Sit Tight
Despite recent gains, XRP's underlying price has fallen around 5% below its six-month high of $1.572, indicating a decline in leverage that's faster than the price itself. Data from CryptoQuant shows that Binance XRP open interest has cooled considerably, dropping 15.3% from its six-month high of $616.1 million on September 22 to $521.5 million this week.
Crypto chart analyst Ali Martinez noted that XRP whale holdings have remained largely unchanged over the past week at around 3.90 billion XRP, pointing to a lack of significant accumulation or distribution among large holders. This stability in whale holdings contrasts with the decline in derivatives positioning, which has been significant.
The decline in leverage is not necessarily a bearish sign for XRP, as it could indicate a positioning reset rather than a decisive directional signal. Long liquidations on Binance averaged $3.72 million per day from September 24 through September 29, about 2.6 times the six-month daily average of $1.43 million. Funding rates fell from 0.010 to 0.005, and the estimated leverage ratio declined from 0.230 to 0.197, though it remains above its six-month average of 0.169.