XRP Open Interest Jumps 29% on Binance as Bearish Pressure Builds

XRP is struggling to rebound from its latest price correction after falling back toward its multi-year low of $0.98. Despite the continued weakness in the XRP price, activity in the cryptocurrency’s derivatives market has surged, particularly on Binance.

Data from crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant shows that XRP open interest on Binance increased by approximately 28.6% in two weeks. Open interest climbed from around $181 million on August 3 to $232.7 million by August 17, pushing XRP futures activity on the exchange to its highest level since June 2026.

A sharp increase in XRP open interest can indicate growing trader participation and is sometimes interpreted as a bullish signal. However, the latest derivatives data suggests the current surge may have more to do with aggressive bearish positioning than renewed demand from XRP buyers.

CryptoQuant's seven-day open interest data reinforces the increase in speculative activity. The change in XRP open interest on Binance moved from roughly negative $40 million on July 29 to positive $38.9 million by August 17. This shift indicates that traders have been opening substantial new positions throughout August, although open interest alone does not determine whether those positions are long or short.

Other derivatives indicators provide a clearer picture of the market's direction. Binance's XRP Perpetual Cumulative Volume Delta (CVD) dropped to approximately negative $463.2 million, signaling persistent sell-side pressure. A deeply negative CVD indicates that aggressive selling has outweighed aggressive buying in the perpetual futures market.

The combination of rising Binance XRP open interest and negative Perpetual CVD therefore creates a potentially bearish setup. While the 29% increase in open interest demonstrates growing participation in the XRP futures market, the accompanying selling pressure suggests that bearish traders may currently be driving much of that activity.

For XRP, the key question is whether these newly opened positions will reinforce the ongoing price decline or eventually fuel a reversal if bearish traders are forced to unwind their positions.