XRP’s 44% weekly rally has brought a significant amount of leverage back into the derivatives market, raising concerns that a continued decline could trigger a deeper correction.
CryptoQuant data show XRP’s estimated leverage ratio on Binance has reached roughly 0.21, its highest level since January. The indicator measures derivatives open interest against XRP reserves held on the exchange, with higher readings pointing to greater leveraged exposure compared with available supply.
The derivatives market is also heavily tilted toward bullish bets. CoinGlass data showed about two Binance accounts holding long positions for every short account on Wednesday. The ratio among top traders was closer to three longs per short, while OKX showed approximately two longs for each short.
Futures activity has far exceeded spot trading. XRP futures recorded around $6.4 billion in volume over the past 24 hours, more than five times the approximately $1.2 billion traded in spot markets. Total futures open interest was around $3.45 billion.
XRP Leverage Returns as Prices Rally
The rise in leverage followed XRP’s strongest stretch in several months. The broader crypto market gained momentum after the U.S. Treasury increased the size of its bond-buyback program last week, helping lower long-term Treasury yields. Bitcoin subsequently advanced from below $68,000 to nearly $80,000, while XRP outperformed BTC and several other leading tokens.
XRP has also benefited from developments within its ecosystem. Ripple recently backed an institutional credit fund that plans to extend loans denominated in RLUSD through the XRP Ledger.
At the same time, ledger data showed that a larger portion of XRP activity is now occurring during the overlapping trading hours of London and New York.
XRP dropped almost 5% over 24 hours on Wednesday to around $1.44 after briefly trading above $1.50.
Heavy Long Positioning Raises Liquidation Risk
The combination of elevated leverage and approximately $3.45 billion in open positions that favor longs could increase the risk of forced liquidations if XRP falls further.
When leveraged traders no longer have sufficient collateral, exchanges can automatically close their positions. Those liquidations create additional selling pressure, potentially accelerating a decline and turning a modest pullback into a much sharper move.
XRP’s estimated leverage ratio remained relatively low for most of 2026. The previous comparable spike occurred in January, when XRP was trading above $2.
After a 44% surge in just one week, the rapid return of leverage and crowded long positioning could leave XRP particularly vulnerable to heightened volatility if bullish traders begin unwinding their positions.
