XRP has gained 44% over the past week, but the move has begun to lose steam as leveraged money pours into the derivatives market. After breaking above $1.50, the token retreated to $1.44 at the time of writing, down 4% over the past 24 hours.
Data from on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant shows XRP’s estimated leverage ratio on Binance has climbed to about 0.21, its highest reading since January. The indicator compares derivatives open interest with the amount of XRP held in exchange reserves. A higher number suggests the market has built up more leveraged bets relative to the actual XRP sitting on the exchange.
Positioning data also points to strong bullish crowding. According to CoinGlass, on Wednesday the number of Binance accounts betting on XRP to rise was about twice the number of short accounts. Among top traders, the long-short ratio was close to 3:1. On OKX, the long-short account ratio was also elevated at about 2:1.
Futures activity has outpaced spot trading
Derivatives activity picked up sharply alongside the rally. Over the past 24 hours, XRP futures volume reached about $6.4 billion, roughly five times the $1.2 billion recorded in spot exchange trading. At the same time, total open interest in XRP futures rose to $3.45 billion.
The leverage build-up has come during XRP’s strongest rally in months. Last week, the U.S. Treasury expanded its debt buyback program and pushed down long-dated bond yields, helping lift the broader crypto market. Bitcoin climbed from below $68,000 to near $80,000, while XRP outperformed Bitcoin and most major tokens.
Broader market strength and Ripple’s latest move added support
XRP also had token-specific support. Ripple said last week it would back a new institutional credit fund that plans to provide loans through RLUSD, Ripple’s stablecoin, and operate on the XRP Ledger, or XRPL.
Another on-chain data point showed that a growing share of XRP trading activity has been concentrated during the overlap between London and New York trading hours, indicating rising participation from the U.S. and European markets.
High leverage leaves the market exposed to a sharper pullback
That is where the risk sits. XRP’s leverage ratio is now at a seven-month high, and the $3.45 billion in open interest is tilted toward long positions. If the token sees a deeper pullback, exchanges may be forced to liquidate undercollateralized positions. Those sales could add pressure to the price and trigger a broader cascade.
The report noted that for most of 2026, XRP’s estimated leverage ratio stayed at relatively low levels. The last time leverage reached a similarly stretched level was in January, when XRP was still trading above $2.
The next key test is not only whether XRP can reclaim $1.50, but whether bullish leverage can hold through a correction. If that support fails, the rally could cool quickly.