XRP slides 6.6% to $1.37 as derivatives traders turn bearish

XRP slid 6.6% to $1.37 on Aug. 26 as derivatives data showed traders aggressively betting against the token after its 70% rally from a cycle low of $0.9877 on Aug. 17.

"Selling pressure could persist before any stabilization," said Pelinay, a CryptoQuant analyst, who flagged long liquidations reaching $4.66 million, up 31.82% in a single day.

XRP's net taker volume on Binance recorded its strongest selling pressure since the start of 2026, with sell-side dominance surging to about $96 million, according to CryptoQuant data. Open interest on the exchange rose 14.8% as the rally attracted speculative activity. The latest 24-hour taker snapshot showed roughly $3.94 billion in long-side volume versus $4.08 billion in short-side volume, leaving sellers with a 50.86% advantage.

The pullback has pulled XRP into the $1.40-$1.38 range, where a daily close below $1.40 would expose structural supports between $1.30 and $1.20, with a deeper breakdown risking a return toward $1.00. Reclaiming the weekly 50 EMA near $1.54 would restore short-term bullish control and open a path back toward $1.70.

Derivatives Positioning Sends Mixed Signals

While the spot market has remained bullish, derivatives positioning is split. Trader CW (@CW8900) pointed to XRP futures data showing whale-position long/short ratios of 2.18 on Binance and as high as 23.38 on OKX, indicating long exposure substantially exceeded short exposure within whale categories. However, Binance smart-money sentiment improved only from "extremely bearish" to "bearish" between shared snapshots, while Bybit smart-money sentiment remained extremely bearish.

The order book adds another layer. A Coinbase snapshot from Aug. 25 showed roughly $1.69 million in sell liquidity around $1.5421, with larger walls further above, including approximately $2.08 million near $1.70, $3.07 million around $1.75, and $8.87 million near $2.25. Below the price, approximately $3.23 million of buy liquidity sat around $1.50. CW interprets the structure as Coinbase whales deliberately keeping XRP inside a range, though order-book snapshots cannot reveal the intentions of the wallets behind them.

Institutional Flows Offer a Counterweight

Goldman Sachs disclosed $86.5 million across five spot XRP ETFs in its Q2 2026 Form 13F filing, a reversal from Q1 when the bank had exited its XRP ETF positions. The bank held roughly $25.8 million in Bitwise's XRP ETF and $25.4 million in Franklin Templeton's XRPZ, as well as positions in Canary Capital, Grayscale, and 21Shares products. Its previous exposure was worth approximately $153.8 million.

US XRP ETFs attracted around $39.8 million during Aug. 17-21, their strongest week since May, taking cumulative inflows to roughly $1.55 billion. XRP-linked ETFs have logged six consecutive days of net inflows, according to SoSoValue data, suggesting the current weakness reflects a leverage unwind rather than institutions exiting positions.

The immediate test is whether bulls can defend $1.40 in the coming sessions. From $1.37, XRP would need to rise about 227% to reach $5, implying a circulating market capitalization of approximately $314 billion with roughly 62.7 billion XRP in circulation. If XRP can absorb sell-side liquidity above its current price while whale longs continue to increase and smart-money positioning turns positive, the derivatives and spot signals would begin to point in the same direction. For now, they do not.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.