XRP Leverage Hits Seven-Month High as Rally Cools

XRP’s sharp rally has drawn leveraged traders back into the derivatives market, increasing the risk of heightened volatility as the cryptocurrency begins to retreat from recent gains.

XRP surged about 44% over the past week, outperforming many major cryptocurrencies. According to CryptoQuant data, the estimated XRP leverage ratio on Binance has climbed to roughly 0.21, its highest level since January. The metric compares derivatives open interest with XRP reserves held on the exchange, with higher readings indicating increased reliance on leverage.

Bullish positioning is also dominating XRP derivatives trading. CoinGlass data showed that Binance had roughly two long accounts for every short account on Wednesday. Among top traders, the ratio approached three longs for every short, while OKX recorded approximately two-to-one bullish positioning.

Trading activity has been heavily concentrated in derivatives. XRP futures generated around $6.4 billion in volume over the previous 24 hours, more than five times the approximately $1.2 billion recorded in spot trading. XRP futures open interest stood near $3.45 billion.

The renewed leverage follows a broad cryptocurrency rally triggered after the U.S. Treasury expanded its bond-buyback program last week. Lower long-term yields helped Bitcoin climb from below $68,000 to nearly $80,000, while XRP posted even stronger gains.

XRP also benefited from Ripple-related developments. Ripple recently backed an institutional credit fund designed to issue loans using its RLUSD stablecoin through the XRP Ledger. Separate blockchain data showed more XRP activity occurring during overlapping London and New York trading hours, suggesting stronger participation from institutional markets.

However, XRP fell nearly 5% over 24 hours on Wednesday, dropping to around $1.44 after previously trading above $1.50.

The combination of falling prices and elevated leverage could increase liquidation risks. If XRP declines further, highly leveraged long positions may lose sufficient collateral and be forcibly closed by exchanges. Large-scale liquidations could amplify selling pressure and turn a normal market correction into a steeper decline.

XRP’s estimated leverage ratio remained relatively subdued through much of 2026. The last time the Binance ratio reached current levels in January, XRP was trading above $2.