XRP’s sharp recovery is bringing leveraged traders back into the derivatives market, with Binance open interest recording its strongest monthly expansion since August 2025.
CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost reported that XRP’s average monthly open interest growth on Binance has climbed to nearly 1.3%, marking its fastest increase in more than a year. XRP is trading near $1.50 and has gained roughly 50% over the past month.
The rise in derivatives activity raises a key question: Is leverage pushing XRP higher, or are traders simply returning after the price move?
Binance Open Interest Expands Alongside XRP
The latest increase marks a clear shift from the conditions seen earlier in September.
According to another CryptoQuant analysis, Binance XRP open interest increased from around $210 million on Sept. 16 to approximately $276.5 million by Sept. 27. That represents a gain of about 32%.
During the same period, XRP moved from roughly $1.30 to $1.52.
However, rising open interest alone does not indicate that traders are becoming bullish. The metric tracks the total value of outstanding futures contracts, meaning the dollar value can rise simply because XRP’s price is higher.
At the same time, new long and short positions can open together, increasing total open interest without showing which direction traders are ultimately betting on.
The composition of that positioning therefore matters more than the headline increase.
Selling Pressure Hasn’t Disappeared
Despite XRP’s price recovery, trading-flow data continues to show aggressive selling.
CryptoQuant data showed Binance perpetual cumulative volume delta falling from roughly -1 billion to -1.29 billion between Sept. 16 and Sept. 27.
🗞️ XRP Open Interest hits Its strongest Growth since August 2025
Since late August, ripple:native has been in a technical rebound that has pushed it to a gain of more than 70%.
Today, XRP is trading around $1.50, up roughly 50% over the past month. At the same time, XRP’s Open… pic.twitter.com/2rx2L7E3bw
— Darkfost (@Darkfost_Coc) September 29, 2026
Spot CVD across centralized exchanges also declined by around $430 million during the period.
This means XRP has been climbing even as aggressive taker selling remains elevated.
The combination is unusual: XRP’s price is moving higher, futures exposure is increasing, but trading flow still leans toward sellers.
If a large portion of the new leverage represents short positions and XRP continues climbing, short liquidations could create additional buying pressure.
On the other hand, if traders are piling into late long positions, the growing leverage could leave the market more vulnerable to a sharp liquidation-driven decline.
Bullish Expectations Are Picking Up Again
The renewed derivatives activity is also coming as more analysts turn optimistic on XRP.
CryptoQuant’s analyst-consensus tracker found that 76% of 179 directional XRP calls from 18 tracked analysts were bullish during the 30 days ending Sept. 25.
That level of optimism does not guarantee another leg higher.
The more important development is the shift in market structure.
XRP’s earlier recovery came as leverage was being removed from the market. Now, derivatives exposure is rebuilding while the token approaches price levels that previously attracted significant speculation.
XRP’s roughly 70% rebound has clearly brought leveraged traders back into the market. The key question now is whether that new leverage supports another move higher or creates the conditions for the next major liquidation event.
