XRP is seeing renewed investor interest amid the ongoing price rebound, as futures OI climbs to a 9-month high.
XRP has recorded a massive recovery over the past month, with its price rising roughly 65% from $1 to $1.65. The move has brought renewed attention to the token, but price is not the only metric seeing an improvement in market activity.
Notably, XRP’s Open Interest on Binance has climbed to nearly $600 million, its highest level since the start of 2026, about nine months ago.
The figure is getting close to XRP’s yearly peak of $691 million, recorded on Jan. 5. As Open Interest moves closer to that level, the futures market is now becoming an important part of XRP’s latest price recovery.
XRP Open Interest Moves Above Key Level
For the uninitiated, Open Interest (OI) measures the total value of futures contracts that remain open. When OI rises as price increases, it can show that traders are opening new positions, not just adjusting existing ones.
The latest rise in XRP’s OI is important because its 180-day moving average had remained around $445 million for several months. This average had kept derivatives activity within a fairly narrow range before XRP moved above it at the end of August.
The break above the $445 million average suggests that traders have started returning to XRP futures after several months of relatively low activity. Notably, Binance OI then continued rising toward $600 million as XRP recovered from $1 to $1.65.
XRP Records Positive Funding
XRP’s funding rate has also been seeing interesting trends. The current funding rate stands at 0.0001%, which keeps it slightly positive. A positive funding rate means traders holding long positions pay traders holding short positions to keep their futures positions open.
The 0.0001% rate remains small, but its direction is still worth noting. Specifically, it shows that traders seeking exposure to further XRP gains are currently willing to pay a small premium to maintain those positions.
Rising OI and positive funding give the price rally more support from the derivatives market. This indicates that traders can also see increased futures participation developing alongside the spot-induced market recovery.
September Could Test the New Positions
However, the rise in Open Interest also creates a risk for XRP. September has historically been one of the more difficult months for crypto markets. Of the four positive August months recorded by XRP in history, only one has preceded a positive September.
Trading activity can slow during this month, as investors become more cautious. This can put greater pressure on leveraged positions.
A sudden XRP decline could trigger a wave of liquidations. When prices fall far enough, exchanges can automatically close leveraged long positions. Those forced closures can increase selling pressure and cause more positions to face liquidation.