XRP Open Interest Falls to Lowest Level Since 2024: Market Reset or Warning Signal?

XRP has entered a critical phase after losing the $1.80 level and sliding towards the $1.60 area, where the price is now trying to find temporary support. The move comes amid broader weakness across the crypto market, but XRP’s structure is showing an additional layer of stress that is overshadowing the spot’s price action. According to the latest report from CryptoQuant, the exit side of the XRP market is experiencing a sharp reduction in the rate, which indicates a logical change in the behavior of traders.

The data shows that open interest across all XRP derivatives platforms fell to around 902 million, marking its lowest level since 2024. This is in stark contrast to the conditions seen during 2025, where open interest sits between 2.5 and 3.0 billion. The size of this decline suggests that energy is released continuously rather than simply cycled between exchanges, pointing to a broader adjustment to reduce risk.

Such declines often indicate a risk-averse market after extended volatility. With several positions to play, price movements are often slow but deliberate, as over-speculation is eliminated. As XRP tests the $1.60 area, analysts are watching closely to see if this rate reset lays the groundwork for stabilization—or indicates a deeper decline to come.

The report adds important color by distinguishing where the rate reductions occur. On Binance, open interest in XRP derivatives has dropped to around 458 million. While this figure remains above the levels seen last December, it still represents a sharp contraction from the highs seen earlier in the cycle.

Most importantly, this decline in Binance reflects what is happening in other major trading venues, which reinforces the view that the market is facing a broad phase of contraction instead of a simple migration of positions between exchanges.

From a structural point of view, this is important. When open interest presses simultaneously on all platforms, it usually shows traders reducing risk and closing aggressive exposures. This type of area often precedes periods of price consolidation, as the market digests previous volatility and searches for a new equilibrium. In previous cycles, these phases often lead to the formation of basic structures, especially when selling pressure reduction and compression volatility.

Looking ahead, analysts note that any recovery in open interest will be important to monitor. A retracement of the rate accompanied by an improvement in price may serve as an early signal that a new trend is developing.

For now, however, the drop in open interest to its lowest level since 2024 points to a clear market clearing. While this reset may seem quiet on the surface, it can provide a healthy foundation for future moves—as long as risk management remains front and center in the next phase of XRP’s market evolution.

XRP Price Showing Weakness

XRP price action continues to show structural weakness as the asset is trading firmly below its key moving averages and testing the $1.60 area for support. The chart shows a clear transition from previous ups to constant downs, marked by lower highs and lows from the October high near the $3.50–$3.60 region. Momentum has gradually deteriorated, as each rebound fails below the short- and medium-term moving averages, indicating continued seller control.

A loss to the $1.80 level is technically significant. This area has previously served as a primary aggregation and demand area, but the clean split suggests buyers are pulling back instead of aggressively defending the price. XRP is now trading below the 50-day and 100-day moving averages, while the 200-day moving average above continues to move lower, reinforcing the medium-term bearish structure.

Volume remains muted compared to previous distribution phases, which coincides with derivatives data showing a bullish contraction rather than a panic-driven termination. This supports the idea that the current movement is a controlled relaxation rather than a capitulation event.

As long as the price is still holding the $1.55–$1.60 region, XRP may try to stabilize and form a base. However, failure to hold this area will expose the market to a deep retracement to previously sought areas near $1.30–$1.40.

Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com

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