XRP open interest explodes after $32 billion influx

XRP open interest surged on Monday, October 13, as the crypto rebounded nearly 8% over the previous 24 hours and regained roughly $32 billion in market cap lost during last Friday’s market collapse.

The daily trading volume also rose 40%, to $10.7 billion, suggesting renewed buying sentiment following a wipeout sparked by President Donald Trump’s declaration of a 100% tariff on Chinese imports, which triggered $19 billion in crypto liquidations within minutes. 

As of the time of writing, daily XRP open interest, the total value of outstanding futures and options contracts that have not been settled, is up 2.38%, sitting at approximately $1.36 billion, according to data Finbold retrieved from CryptoQuant.

This spike indicates a sharp and quick uptick in leveraged positioning, as traders re-enter the market to capitalize on the increased volatility. More precisely, increasing percentages following a sudden price rebound could suggest fresh money flowing into bullish bets, i.e., those hoping the asset’s recovery could extend further.

However, elevated open interest can also amplify liquidation risk if the price reverses again. In simpler terms, the higher the leverage, the greater the chance that a sudden downturn could trigger forced sell-offs.

XRP price action

As of the time of writing, XRP is changing hands at $2.58, still down more than 14% on the weekly chart and way below the psychological $3 level.

From a technical standpoint, bears have the upper hand, as the crypto still remains below the 200-day exponential moving average (EMA) of $2.63. The relative strength index (RSI) of 34.5, in contrast, shows shor-term oversold conditions. XRP is also below its July consolidation range, with the $2.62 zone now acting as a strong resistance cluster. 

A slip below $2.30 risks a further drop, potentially to $2. Conversely, reclaiming $2.74 (38.2% Fibonacci retracement) could reignite momentum toward $3.10. Until that breakout occurs, however, downside risk prevails, with initial support seen near $2.30.

The outlook is made more pessimistic by recent whale activity as well, as a total of 23,880,253 XRP (worth approximately $62.64 million) was transferred from an unknown wallet to the Binance exchange earlier today.

Namely, such large transfers tend to signal that large holders are positioning to sell, potentially putting pressure on market sentiment and price stability.

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