XRP futures positioning has broken into two distinct tracks near $1.20. CryptoQuant data shows traders on Bybit pulling back aggressively as the token weakened, while Binance participants kept adding exposure. That split has turned the current price zone into a closely watched level for XRP’s next move.
Bybit sees sharp deleveraging into early June
The largest adjustment came from Bybit. XRP open interest on the exchange fell from about $283 million on May 21 to roughly $216 million on June 3, a drop of $67 million in less than two weeks. The decline amounts to nearly 24%, pointing to a meaningful reduction in leveraged futures activity.
Additional readings support the same picture. On-chain data cited by CryptoQuant showed seven-day open interest changes on Bybit of around -$61 million on June 2 and -$56 million on June 3, both recorded while XRP traded close to $1.20.
The open interest delta also stayed negative for three straight sessions, ranging from about -$13 million to -$23 million. That matters because it suggests traders were not reacting to one isolated liquidation event. Positions were being closed over multiple sessions, with leverage coming out of the market in stages.
Binance moves the other way with fresh positioning
Binance traders took the opposite approach. While Bybit’s exposure was falling, Binance posted an increase of about $20 million in XRP open interest on June 2. Even with price action still under pressure, traders on the exchange either held onto existing positions or opened new ones.
This contrast now stands out more than the broader market backdrop. The same move toward $1.20 produced one group of traders cutting risk and another group adding it. Other large venues, including OKX, BitMEX, Kraken, and Bitfinex, showed much smaller changes, leaving Binance and Bybit as the main sources of the divergence.
Why the $1.20 level now carries more weight
Open interest is one of the key gauges in derivatives because it reflects how much capital and leverage remain active in a market. When price falls together with open interest, the move is often read as leverage exiting rather than a wave of new short positions entering.
The latest XRP setup is less uniform. Deleveraging has been concentrated on Bybit, but Binance is still drawing in new exposure. For that reason, $1.20 has become a crucial level. If buying interest holds around this area, the recent drop may be seen as a leverage reset. If weakness continues, broader position reductions across more exchanges could follow.