Ripple’s XRP just went through a major cleanup phase, and most traders barely noticed. Over the past 90 days, open interest across major exchanges has been shrinkingRipple’s XRP just went through a major cleanup phase, and most traders barely noticed. Over the past 90 days, open interest across major exchanges has been shrinking

Billions in XRP Leverage Just Got Wiped – What Happens Now?

2026/02/27 07:00
3 min read

Ripple’s XRP just went through a major cleanup phase, and most traders barely noticed.

Over the past 90 days, open interest across major exchanges has been shrinking hard. 

Top analyst Xaif Crypto shared on X that Binance saw a drop of 7.7 million XRP in open interest. Bybit lost 12 million XRP. Kraken shed another 8.3 million. When you translate that into dollar terms, that’s billions in speculative leverage wiped off the board.

This wasn’t a single exchange issue. It happened across platforms at the same time. That’s what makes it interesting.

What the Open Interest Chart Is Showing

Looking at the 90-day open interest change chart, the pattern is clear. There are repeated deep red dips across multiple exchanges, especially on platforms like Bybit and Binance. These are not small pullbacks. They represent aggressive deleveraging.

The most recent contraction stands out. Open interest plunged sharply, pushing into some of the deepest negative territory seen in months. That kind of synchronized decline usually signals forced liquidations or traders closing positions in size.

In simple terms, the market shook out a lot of leveraged players. Historically, when open interest drops this aggressively, it often resets the derivatives market. Funding normalizes. Crowded positioning clears out. The market becomes less fragile.

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Source: X/XaifCrypto

Why This Matters

When leverage builds up too much, price becomes unstable. A small move can trigger cascades of liquidations in either direction. That’s when you see violent spikes and fake breakouts.

When leverage flushes out, the opposite happens. The market breathes again. There are fewer forced buyers and sellers.

Xaif’s argument is that this is not the end of XRP’s cycle. It’s a reset. The weak hands, the overleveraged traders chasing momentum, are gone. What remains is a cleaner structure.

The chart supports that idea. After each major open interest wipeout in the past, the XRP price eventually saw a meaningful move once positioning was rebuilt more sustainably.

Is This a Setup?

That doesn’t automatically mean XRP pumps tomorrow. A reset removes pressure, but it doesn’t guarantee direction.

What it does create is potential. With open interest reduced, the next expansion phase can build on healthier footing. New positions will not be stacked on top of extreme leverage levels.

Smart money rarely enters during euphoric spikes. It tends to accumulate when activity is quiet and sentiment is low. Right now, open interest data suggests we are closer to silence than hype.

The real question is timing. If positioning begins to rebuild over the coming weeks and the XRP price starts to grind higher, this deleveraging phase may be remembered as the foundation for the next move.

For now, the data shows one thing clearly: XRP’s derivatives market just got flushed. What comes next depends on who steps back in, and how.

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The post Billions in XRP Leverage Just Got Wiped – What Happens Now? appeared first on CaptainAltcoin.

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