XRP Sees Steady Decline In Open Interest Across Platforms Amid Market Uncertainty

XRP is trading under renewed bearish pressure, slipping below the $1.36 level following a sudden pullback. The move is accompanied by a steady decline in XRP’s derivatives activity, reinforcing a cautious tone in the market.

Derivatives weaken as open interest falls

Market expert and investor Xaif Crypto said XRP’s Open Interest (OI) continues to decline across major exchanges. He linked the outflow of leveraged positions to traders reducing exposure amid heightened uncertainty or taking profits to limit further losses.

Xaif Crypto added that open interest has been “bleeding out” since a blow-off in November 2025. On the 30-day view, the OI change is reportedly barely above level 0 across Binance, Bybit, and OKX.

In general terms, falling open interest can signal a cooling phase in market activity or a consolidation period, when speculative momentum tends to fade. Based on this setup, Xaif Crypto predicted an explosive move for XRP in the near future, with the potential to help the asset recover key resistance levels.

Taker buy/sell ratio hits a record on Binance

In a separate post, Xaif Crypto highlighted XRP’s Taker Buy/Sell ratio on Binance. As of Saturday, the metric reportedly rose to a new all-time high, a condition he described as supportive for the short-term outlook.

The metric reflects the balance between market buy and sell orders. Xaif Crypto said buyers are taking over the order flow, while sellers show signs of exhaustion—suggesting renewed conviction as bullish pressure builds.

He also pointed to aggressive buying activity despite waning broader market action, describing it as “smart money” accumulating holdings and indicating a potential accumulation phase among holders.

Exchange reserves decline, tightening available supply

Another trend gaining attention is the rapid movement of XRP out of crypto exchanges. When tokens leave trading platforms, it can indicate that traders prefer to hold assets in private custody rather than sell on exchanges, while also reducing trading liquidity.

According to SMQKE, there are about 1.7 billion XRP available across all crypto exchanges. The figure is described as the lowest level of XRP held on trading platforms over the past seven years.

In a 21Shares report, the asset manager characterized the combination of this exchange-supply decline and increasing institutional ETF demand as a “supply-shock mechanism.” It added that “this intersection of scale and scarcity is the primary engine for a non-linear repricing throughout 2026.”