XRP Futures Open Interest Zooms to 5-Month High as Traders Seek Bullish Bets

Futures tied to XRP XRP are flashing positive signals as the payments-focused cryptocurrency looks to build bullish momentum.

On Monday, cumulative open interest in XRP perpetual futures listed on major exchanges briefly rose to 800 million XRP, the most since Jan. 19, according to data source Velo. The platform tracks activity in USDT and USD perpetuals listed on Binance, Bybit, OKX and Hyperliquid.

Cumulative open interest is currently 743 million XRP, still 33% higher than on June 22, when XRP put in an interim price bottom at $1.90.

Open interest refers to the number of futures contracts open or active at a given time. An increase represents an influx of money into the market, although it doesn't give any clues about the nature of the flows.

That said, the recent surge in open interest seems to have been led by traders chasing bullish long bets. That's because perpetual funding rates have consistently held positive, occasionally topping the annualized 10% mark, pointing to demand for bullish exposure.

Exchanges typically collect funding rates every eight hours and involve longs paying shorts when the demand for bullish bets results in perpetuals trading at a premium to the spot price.

Also pointing to the bullish mood in the market is the "top trader long/short ratio" in the Binance-listed XRP/USDT market. As of writing, the ratio tracked by Coinglass stood at 1.90, implying that for every short, there are two long positions open. Short positions profit when the cryptocurrency declines.

Last week, the Deribit-listed options market saw traders chase the higher strike XRP calls.

Still, the cryptocurrency's spot price is yet to see notable bullish volatility. On Monday, prices rose to a high of $2.35, the level last seen at the end of May, only to quickly fall back to $2.25 and remain around that level.