Why XRP Spot Buys Skyrocket While Futures Open Interest Drops

Bitrue reported a 212% increase in XRP spot purchases on February 26, with buy orders more than double the selling pressure.

Bitrue said on February 26 that it recorded a 212% jump in XRP spot buying as institutional investors continued to allocate funds through XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The exchange attributed the spike to nearly $1.1 billion in ETF inflows, arguing that continued demand for funds and retail traders could bolster supply in the coming months.

Spot Buying Jumps as ETF Inflows Build

In a post on X, Bitrue said XRP buy orders on its platform outnumber sell orders more than two to one.

“We recorded a 212% increase in the volume of XRP spot purchases, surpassing the sell side by more than 2x,” the exchange posted on X.

It attributed the imbalance to the institution’s continued accumulation since the launch of the XRP ETF, which it says has gained $1.1 billion in total assets, although data from SoSoValue showed that there had been muted ETF flows in recent days.

However, the derivatives market tells a different story. According to CryptoQuant, XRP futures open futures fall on major platforms in the last 90 days, with Binance recording a decrease of 7.7 million XRP and Bybit showing a significant reduction of 12 million tokens. In addition, the three-month moving average of XRP futures volume fell to its lowest level since November 2024, reaching around $87 billion.

Looking at the broader market structure of XRP, it was trading around $1.44 at the time of writing, up about 5% in the last 24 hours and about 2% during the week. Nevertheless, the token is still down more than 23% in the last month and almost 38% in the whole of the last year, well below the July 2025 all-time high of $3.65.

Average Cooling Meets Strong Spot Demand

The difference between accumulating spots and falling derivative activity suggests a change in market structure rather than a similar bullish impulse. Open interest is now close to $2.37 billion by CoinGlass figures, and the shorting of higher positions may reflect traders reducing risk after months of volatility.

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From a price point of view, XRP remains stuck between $1.38 and $1.48 in the last 24 hours. One market watcher, CasiTrades, has marked resistance around $1.40 and $1.65, with support around $1.11 and $0.87. According to them, further progress above those resistance levels may require strong follow-through from ETF inflows and broader market participation.

As such, considering the broader data, Bitrue’s reported increase in spot purchases highlights the need for a stronger exchange rate, but the broader data shows a market rebalancing rather than accelerating.

However, the crypto exchange predicts that the growth of retail and corporate support may lead to a shortage of supply that could increase the performance of the Ripple token enough to beat major competitors this year.

“With increasing support from the retail and institutional levels, Bitrue predicts a possible supply squeeze, which could result in XRP outperforming key competitors by Q2 2026,” Bitrue wrote.