XRP has captured the attention of the crypto community amidst the broader crypto market dump, with its open interest in derivatives reaching unprecedented levels. The heightened interest signals growing optimism for a significant price move in the coming months, possibly to its all-time high.
XRP Open Interest hits $5.42B
XRP Open interest, a key indicator of the total value of open futures contracts of the cryptoasset, surged to a record $5.42 billion on 12 January 2025, according to Coinglass. This translates to a significant leap of about 104% from its previous high of $2.66 billion recorded on 4 January 2025 as reported by Crypto Asset Buyer. Notably, the metric has since consolidated slightly to $5.18 billion at the time of writing.
Leading the charge is Bitget, which accounts for 25% of XRP’s futures contracts, totaling $1.38 billion. Other notable contributors include Bybit ($1.16 billion), Binance ($1.08 billion), Gate.io ($907 million), and OKX ($279 million).
Moreover, this surge in open interest coincides with XRP’s impressive market performance, including a 13% price increase over the weekend. These developments suggest heightened liquidity and growing investor confidence in XRP’s future price potential.
Read also: XRP: Bearish indicators warn of potential 25% price decline in early 2025
Factors fueling XRP’s derivative boom
The rise in derivative interest can be attributed to several bullish developments within the XRP ecosystem, including the launch of the Ripple stablecoin (RLUSD), spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) anticipation, high-level meetings between Ripple executives and United States incoming president and XRP price resurgence amongst others.
Ripple introduced RLUSD in 2024, a native stablecoin designed to enhance settlement options on the XRP Ledger (XRPL). This development has strengthened XRP’s utility and appeal to institutional players. To accelerate the adoption of RLUSD in the decentralized finance (DeFi) ecosystem and expand its utility, Ripple recently tapped Chainlink standard to bring high-quality pricing data for the stablecoin.
The success of spot bitcoin and Ether ETFs has fueled speculation that an XRP ETF could follow, offering new avenues for investment. Accordingly, Ripple’s president, Monica Long, recently hinted at the potential for an XRP spot ETF. It bears mentioning that several global asset management companies have filed applications for an ETF wrapper for XRP. However, none has been approved by the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as of today.
Interestingly, a closed-door meeting between Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Chief Legal Officer Stuart Alderoty, and U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has added to the bullish sentiments for XRP. While details remain undisclosed, the meeting is perceived as a bullish signal for Ripple and XRP.
Additionally, XRP’s price movements have contributed significantly to the enthusiasm and increasing bullish speculations on the cryptoasset. A 282% surge in November 2024 set the stage for continued growth, with the current price sitting above $2.57, up about 20% year-to-date. Analysts suggest breaking the critical resistance of $2.9 could propel XRP to retest its all-time high of $3.84.
XRP price outlook
The long/short ratio of XRP futures on major exchanges further indicate bullish sentiment. Binance reports a ratio of 1.95, while OKX shows 1.64, signaing that a majority of traders are betting on a price increase.
Moreover, the adoption of native XRP innovations and the ongoing buzz around the ecosystem hint at sustained growth potential. Top crypto analysts believe that surging XRP open interest suggests market confidence while also acting as a catalyst for a potential rally.
With significant developments like the RLUSD stablecoin launch, potential ETF approval and high-level meetings, XRP is positioned to capture further market attention. Should the cryptoasset break critical resistance levels around $2.9, a new all-time high may not be far off. Trading at $2.57 at the time of writing, XRP has gained almost 10% in the past 24 hours.
Read also: XRP futures funding rates, rare chart patterns signal explosive rally ahead.
Ndianabasi Tom A Petroleum Engineering degree holder, Ndianabasi’s interest since 2018 has been studying the ever-growing field of blockchain and cryptocurrency, keenly evaluating the innovation, exploration, and expansion of this field locally and globally. The founder of Nitadel a media platform, Ndianabasi has been a Writer at Crypto Asset Buyer (CAB) since 2021. When he is not drilling resources in the blockchain and cryptocurrency field, Ndianabasi is singing, reading, watching crime movies, or playing football.
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