XRP’s trading landscape has shifted, with significant disparities emerging between derivatives and spot markets. Recent data from CryptoQuant reveals that the whale-retail spread on Binance has contracted to 35.1%, reminiscent of early May figures. However, broader market conditions indicate a persistent and widening gap across exchanges.
XRP's Whale-Retail Spread Trends
On July 16, the Binance whale-retail spread fell to 35.1%, aligning closely with the 35.6% reading from May 3. During this period, XRP was trading around $1.10, bringing its price and the seven-day average spread into a historically comparable range. In contrast, the All-CEX whale-retail spread has remained elevated at 38.4%, reflecting a disparity of 12.4 percentage points from its May 6 low of 26%.
This comparison indicates that while XRP's price has stabilized, the balance between large whale traders and retail investors has not returned to previous levels. The gap in trading activity between these groups remains notably wider than it was during the market's low in May.
use Increases Amidst Declining Spot Activity
From July 13 to July 14, CryptoQuant analysts observed a dramatic rise in XRP's derivatives trading activity. On July 13, Binance recorded approximately $2.95 million in long liquidations, with funding rates dipping to negative 0.004. However, the following day saw a resurgence in trading interest, as open interest surged over $20 million to reach $424.4 million.
The estimated use ratio increased to 0.162, with funding rates returning to positive territory. This renewed interest led to about $1.02 million in short liquidations on July 14, highlighting a short squeeze triggered by rapid repositioning in the derivatives market. Despite this rebound in derivatives, spot flows on Binance have not mirrored the activity, dropping from tens of millions of XRP earlier in the week to just tens of thousands.
On-Chain Transaction Activity Declines
also XRP's on-chain transaction count fell to 1.11 million, which is approximately 25% below the three-month average. This decline shows the growing contrast between futures positioning and actual network activity. Analysts suggest that the current market dynamics are primarily driven by leveraged contracts, as evidenced by the recent liquidation events.
This material is informational and not financial advice.
