XRP has been grinding in sideways consolidation below key resistance since early February, showing no clear trend and offering participants little directional conviction despite weeks of waiting for a catalyst to force a decisive move. The indecision is real and the chart reflects it — but a CryptoQuant report tracking derivatives activity has identified two separate events in May that suggest the market may be quietly positioning for exactly the kind of decisive move that the price action has been withholding.
On May 22, XRP open interest expanded sharply across major derivatives exchanges in a single session. Binance added approximately 25.6 million XRP in open interest while Bybit added approximately 54 million XRP — a combined increase of nearly 79.6 million XRP representing roughly $107 million in new notional positioning at the prevailing price near $1.35.
The move was not an isolated event. On May 26, an almost identical expansion occurred. Binance added another 28.9 million XRP in open interest and Bybit increased by 42.9 million XRP — a combined rise of 71.8 million XRP worth approximately $96 million as XRP traded near $1.34.
Two separate sessions. Two nearly identical open interest expansions. A combined $203 million in new derivatives positioning was added within four days in a market that has shown no directional conviction for months. Something is being built — and the CryptoQuant report examines exactly what the flow data behind that positioning reveals about which direction it is pointing.
$203M in New Positioning and Rising Spot Demand
The CryptoQuant analysis places the two open interest expansions in historical context immediately. These were the strongest XRP derivatives positioning events since March 16 — meaning speculative activity has returned to levels not seen in over two months after a prolonged period of subdued derivatives participation. The market is not simply active. It is more active than it has been at any point since before the most recent consolidation phase began.
Open interest confirms the return of leverage. Direction requires the taker to flow data, and that data reveals the split that makes the current setup structurally significant. Binance Perpetual CVD has fallen to approximately -$641.9 million, a record negative reading that confirms aggressive selling has dominated XRP’s perpetual markets throughout the open interest expansion. New positions are being built, and the participants building them on Binance are predominantly short.
Against that, derivatives selling, All CEX Estimated Spot CVD has climbed to approximately $397.3 million — exceeding the April levels that sat near $380 million and confirming that genuine spot demand has been strengthening simultaneously. Real buyers accumulating in spot markets while derivatives traders build short positions is the divergence that defines the current structure.
The liquidation data adds the layer that determines when the divergence resolves. On May 23, XRP long liquidations reached approximately $5.44 million — the highest since February 5, 2026. The forced exits have been hitting longs rather than shorts, meaning the squeeze pressure is building on the short side rather than releasing it. If spot CVD maintains its strength while perpetual CVD remains at record negative territory, the conditions for a short squeeze are assembling — not yet triggered, but accumulating with every session that the divergence persists without resolution.
XRP Continues In Compression As Market Waits For Confirmation
XRP remains locked in a prolonged consolidation structure near the $1.35 region, with the daily chart showing a market that has struggled to establish momentum in either direction since the sharp February breakdown. Price action continues grinding sideways beneath all major moving averages, reinforcing the broader bearish structure that has controlled XRP for most of 2026.
Technically, the chart highlights the importance of the $1.30–$1.35 support zone, which buyers have defended repeatedly during the past three months. Every selloff into this region has attracted enough demand to prevent a deeper breakdown, but bulls have also consistently failed to reclaim the $1.45–$1.50 resistance area that caps every recovery attempt. The result is a compressed range structure with declining volatility and increasingly neutral momentum conditions.
The moving averages also reflect this indecision. The shorter-term averages have flattened significantly while the 200-day moving average continues trending downward overhead, signaling that XRP has not yet transitioned into a confirmed recovery structure despite the stabilization seen since March.
Volume remains relatively muted compared to the massive liquidation-driven spike recorded during February’s collapse, suggesting that aggressive market participation has not fully returned yet. However, prolonged compression phases like the current one often precede major volatility expansions once liquidity builds sufficiently on both sides of the range. A breakout above $1.45 could trigger renewed bullish momentum, while losing the $1.30 support zone would likely accelerate downside pressure quickly.
Featured image from ChatGPT, chart from TradingView.com
