The XRP futures market is lopsided as the long positions pile up and the long-to-short ratio has gone to 3:1. The increase in long positions coincides with Binance’s Ripple USD (RLUSD) rewards campaign, which airdrops XRP to eligible users.
XRP longs vs shorts ratio hits 3:1
The XRP futures market is once again betting that the prices will recover after XRP fell below the $1 level for a short while before recovering again. The XRP futures open interest on exchanges has climbed to $2.75 billion, per Coinglass data, while the trading volume reportedly increased 77% over the last 24 hours, as XRP trades near $1. The long/short ratio was 3:1 on the Binance exchange, showing that there were three long positions available against one short position.
The 3:1 long-to-short ratio indicates that XRP traders are positioning heavily for a potential rebound. There were three long positions for every one short position, suggesting that bullish bets significantly outweighed bearish bets in the futures market. This reflects strong trader confidence in XRP’s near-term recovery, although a heavily crowded long market can also increase liquidation risks if the price moves lower.
Even the funding rate has turned positive, and this is an important metric that keeps the futures prices from straying far away from spot prices. The funding rate is turning positive, indicating that long traders are paying short traders to maintain their positions. This is an important metric in the futures market as funding payments help keep perpetual futures prices aligned with the underlying spot price. A positive rate typically signals stronger demand for long positions, suggesting that traders are becoming more bullish on XRP.
Binance’s XRP rewards fuel the futures market
The increase in long positions comes as Binance extends its RLUSD campaign with an $800,000 XRP reward pool for eligible users. XRP will be airdropped to users who hold at least 0.01 RLUSD in eligible Earn or Margin accounts. They must also record at least $500 in weekly margin or futures trading volume.
