Ripple’s XRP is mostly avoided by retail traders, but it is becoming a competitive field between whales and professional traders. In the past week, open interest recovered by 30% in a battle between bearish derivative positions and bullish whale buyers.&nbsp;
XRP open interest rose from $1B to around $1.3B in the span of a week, showing a fast recovery after the latest market downturn. XRP traded at around $1.32, after bouncing with the rest of the market. The asset has been trading in a relatively small range and is almost forgotten by retail.&nbsp;
At the same time, whales and <a href="https://coinalyze.net/ripple/open-interest/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">derivative traders</a> have taken over, with regular price swings and significant liquidations. XRP also stands at a strong price point, though not yet in the overbought zone based on the RSI index. 
This positioning has caused an attempt to short the asset, with local accumulation of short positions on selected exchanges.
<figure style="width: 100%" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img src="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/XRPOpenNov52026.png" alt="XRP open interest rises by 30% in a week in a bear and bull battle " width="912" height="489">
 <figcaption>
 XRP open interest recovered in the second half of 2026 and showed resilience in the past week, quickly compensating for recent liquidations. | Source: <a rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Tradingview</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
The rising open interest for XRP is mostly due to crypto insiders. On the <a href="https://www.cmegroup.com/markets/cryptocurrencies/xrp/xrp/volume#tradeDate=20261104" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CME Group market</a>, XRP derivative trading slowed down in the past week. Demand from <a href="https://www.coinglass.com/etf/xrp" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">ETFs</a> is also relatively weak, as ETF holders are carrying around $440M in unrealized losses.&nbsp;
<h3 id="span-style-font-weight-400-xrp-open-interest-rises-on-binance-span">XRP open interest rises on Binance</h3>
Binance and Bybit showed significant growth in <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/xrp-returns-to-whales-price-stagnant/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">XRP open interest</a>, displacing the recent accumulation of trades on Hyperliquid. Binance carries $542.7M in open interest, rising by around 2.4% in the past day.
As of November 5, Binance also showed a rapid buildup of short positions, far surpassing the growth of long positions.&nbsp;
<figure style="width: 100%" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img src="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/XRPShortPositionsNov52026.png" alt="XRP open interest rises by 30% in a week in a bear and bull battle&nbsp;" width="951" height="437">
 <figcaption>
 Binance short positions on XRP expanded in the past day, as derivative traders expected a breakdown of the recent rally above $1.30. | Source: <a href="https://www.tradingview.com/symbols/XRPUST/fundamentals-derivatives/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Tradingview</a>
 </figcaption>
</figure>
XRP trading has also accelerated since the Binance hack, as the asset is part of the hacker’s portfolio. The XRP from the hack is yet to show up on the market, and <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/binance-xrp-six-wallets-ripple-cannot-freeze/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Ripple</a> has announced the tokens cannot be frozen.&nbsp;
Additionally, XRP positioning trackers have noted a spike in XRP open interest on Bitfinex. The exchange is a venue for fast buildups and liquidations of XRP <a href="https://x.com/Xaif_Crypto/status/2118202143849197703" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">short positions</a>.&nbsp;
The prevalence of short positions also suggests the XRP rally above $1.30 is expected to break down soon. Inversely, the short positions may lead to a squeeze, liquidating positions up to <a href="https://www.coinglass.com/pro/futures/LiquidationHeatMap?coin=XRP" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$1.35</a>. Even with a short squeeze, XRP may remain range-bound, becoming a speculative token for short-term price swings.
<h3 id="span-style-font-weight-400-xrp-whales-keep-buying-as-asset-remains-resilient-span">XRP whales keep buying as asset remains resilient&nbsp;</h3>
XRP has proven relatively resilient to recent turbulence, including the Binance hack. XRP was not affected by the recent bug discovery on the XRP Ledger network, which may have allowed unlimited token minting.&nbsp;
XRP is also closely watched for whale withdrawals, shrinking the immediate supply on Binance. As of November 1, around 50M XRP were withdrawn from Binance, based on Cryptoquant <a href="https://cryptoquant.com/insights/quicktake/6aeb23371769b212b7540771-XRP-Open-Interest-Jumps-19-as-Bearish-Derivatives-Pressure-Clashes-With-Whale-Wi" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">analysis</a>. Over time, around 68% of the XRP supply is held in whale wallets, as professional traders and large-scale holders have absorbed the selling from retail owners.&nbsp;
XRP was also withdrawn from Gate and Upbit, with 54M leaving the exchanges for self-custodial wallets. Exchange <a href="https://x.com/alicharts/status/2118297629750641085" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">outflows</a> continued to expand as of November 5, with 13.24M leaving centralized markets.
For now, self-controlled XRP holdings have limited utility. XRP trading is minimal on decentralized exchanges. Ripple’s <a href="https://defillama.com/chain/xrpl" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">XRP Ledger</a> still holds limited liquidity compared to other DeFi networks. The only role of whale holdings is to contract the available supply.&nbsp;
XRP analysis based on demand signals and derivative open interest suggests the asset may have found its local bottom. While crypto remains unpredictable, XRP is seen as potentially breaking out to a higher range after months of relative stagnation.&nbsp;
The smartest crypto minds already read our newsletter. Want in? <a href="https://www.cryptopolitan.com/newsletters/?utm_source=cp&amp;utm_medium=web&amp;utm_campaign=inlineAds" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Join them</a>.

Short position accumulation drives XRP open interest recovery over the past week

Table of Contents

Cryptopolitan_News

Other articles published on Nov 5, 2026

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!