Institutional Pivot: Why XRP Spot Buying Is Skyrocketing While Futures Open Interest Slumps

Bitrue said on February 26 that it recorded a 212% jump in XRP spot buying as institutional investors continued allocating capital through newly launched XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs).

The exchange linked the spike to roughly $1.1 billion in cumulative ETF inflows, arguing that steady demand from funds and retail traders could tighten available supply in the months ahead.

Spot Buying Jumps as ETF Inflows Build

In a post on X, Bitrue said XRP buy orders on its platform outpaced sell orders by more than two to one.

It attributed the imbalance to sustained institutional accumulation since the debut of XRP ETFs, which it claims have drawn $1.1 billion in net assets, even though data from SoSoValue showed there have been muted ETF flows in recent days.

However, the derivatives market tells a different story. According to CryptoQuant, XRP futures open interest has fallen across major platforms over the past 90 days, with Binance recording a decrease of 7.7 million XRP and Bybit showing a larger reduction of around 12 million tokens. Furthermore, the three-month moving average for XRP futures volume has dropped to its lowest level since November 2024, settling at approximately $87 billion.

Looking at XRP’s broader market structure, it was trading around $1.44 at the time of writing, up nearly 5% in the last 24 hours and about 2% during the week. Even so, the token is still down more than 23% over the past month and almost 38% across the past year, far below its July 2025 all-time high of $3.65.

Cooling Leverage Meets Steady Spot Demand

The divergence between spot accumulation and falling derivatives activity suggests a shift in market composition rather than uniform bullish momentum. Open interest now stands near $2.37 billion per CoinGlass figures, and the contraction in leveraged positions may reflect traders reducing risk after months of volatility.

From a price standpoint, XRP remains range-bound between $1.38 and $1.48 over the past 24 hours. One market watcher, CasiTrades, flagged resistance around $1.40 and $1.65, with support near $1.11 and $0.87. According to them, a sustained move above those resistance levels would likely require stronger follow-through from ETF inflows and broader market participation.

As such, considering the broader data, Bitrue’s reported spike in spot buying highlights firm exchange-level demand, but the wider data show a market that is rebalancing rather than accelerating.

Nonetheless, the crypto exchange is predicting that growing retail and corporate support could lead to a supply deficit that may push up the Ripple token’s performance enough to beat major rivals this year.

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