Long traders in XRP futures market have been repeatedly wiped out in recent weeks, even as large holders quietly add to their positions. Liquidations on Binance topped $2.5 million on March 18, followed by another $2.45 million four days later, and $2.15 million on March 26 — three sharp resets in less than two weeks that point to an unstable futures environment despite rising whale activity.
Whale Buying Hits Longest Streak In Months
Large holders have been accumulating XRP steadily since late February. According to data tracked by CryptoQuant, whale inflows are now averaging $9 million per day on a 30-day moving average, and that buying streak has held without interruption since Feb. 27 — the longest sustained accumulation run since a similar period between April and July last year. That earlier stretch ended with XRP hitting an all-time high of $3.65 in mid-July 2025.
The current buying activity stands in sharp contrast to the price chart, which has moved in the opposite direction. XRP has dropped 13.63% over the past 10 days after breaking down from a bullish pattern traders had been watching closely.
Based on reports from CryptoQuant analysts, the altcoin could slide further to test support at $1.27, with a deeper fall toward the yearly low of $1.11 still possible if selling pressure continues.
Open interest on Binance jumped close to 15% in the 24 hours ending March 26 — its highest single-day rise since early March — signaling that traders are adding new positions even as the market keeps punishing longs.
The repeated liquidation spikes suggest that fresh money coming into the futures market is taking on more risk than conditions can currently support.
Risk-Adjusted Returns Turn Slightly Positive
One data point in XRP’s favor is its Sharpe Ratio, which measures how much return an asset delivers relative to its risk. After spending most of the period between October 2024 and February 2025 near or below zero, the ratio edged positive to 0.0267 as of March 26.
Analyst Arab Chain, writing on CryptoQuant, called the movement a sign of gradual rebalancing, adding that a drop back into negative territory would signal renewed volatility.
A 30-day average daily return of 0.00063 supports the shift, though the number is modest. Data shows gains remain small while volatility has stayed relatively flat — not a strong breakout signal, but a slight improvement from where things stood just a month ago.
Spot Market And Futures Sending Different Messages
The gap between what onchain data shows and what the price chart is doing is the clearest tension in XRP’s current setup. Whales are buying. Retail futures traders keep getting liquidated. The Sharpe Ratio has improved but remains barely above zero. None of these signals points cleanly in the same direction.
Featured image from Unsplash, chart from TradingView
