The Crypto Basic

Moscow Exchange XRP Perpetual Futures now live as Crypto Derivatives Lineup Expands.

Moscow Exchange (MOEX) has launched its new XRPUSDF perpetual futures contract, expanding its cryptocurrency derivatives offering with an instrument tied to the Moscow Exchange Ripple Index (MOEXXRP). Trading was scheduled to begin on September 22, 2026, alongside four other new crypto index perpetual futures.

The development follows our previous report on MOEX’s September 16 announcement, when the exchange disclosed plans to introduce perpetual contracts linked to Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP, and TRON.

The MOEX data shows the underlying Ripple Index at 1.5148, with a displayed increase of 1.30%.

XRP/USDF Adds Continuous XRP Index Exposure

The new XRP product carries the contract code XRPUSDF and references MOEXXRP. The other contracts introduced in the same rollout are BTCUSDF for Bitcoin, ETHUSDF for Ether, SOLUSDF for Solana and TRXUSDF for TRON. Access to all five instruments is restricted to qualified investors.

MOEX has structured the products as cash-settled one-day futures with automatic prolongation. As a result, the contracts renew rather than requiring delivery of the underlying digital assets at settlement. Investors using XRPUSDF therefore receive derivatives exposure to movements in the XRP-linked index without receiving XRP itself.

Contract quotations reflect the U.S. dollar value of the corresponding MOEX cryptocurrency index, while financial settlements take place in Russian rubles. The exchange has also incorporated a funding calculation into the contracts, with K1 and K2 parameters initially set at 0% and 0.35%, respectively.

MOEX Builds on Existing Crypto Futures Market

The perpetual contracts extend a crypto derivatives business that Moscow Exchange began developing before the latest launch. Existing MOEX products already included standard futures tied to its Bitcoin, Ether, Solana, XRP and TRON indices.

According to MOEX, more than 72,000 qualified investors had traded its digital-asset futures since the first such contracts were introduced in summer 2025. Their combined transaction volume had exceeded 600 billion rubles by the September 16 announcement. Those figures relate to the exchange’s previously available crypto futures rather than trading activity in the newly launched perpetual contracts.

The September 22 rollout therefore adds a perpetual format to MOEX’s existing crypto-index derivatives lineup, with XRPUSDF providing continuous futures exposure to the exchange’s XRP-linked index without physical XRP settlement.

XRP rallied 8.22% in three days after whales accumulated roughly $2.2 billion worth of XRP, while on-chain data highlights $1.60 as a key level.

XRP has risen 8.22% over three days following a period in which large holders accumulated more than $2 billion worth of XRP, while on-chain data identifies $1.60 as a major concentration of previously transacted supply.

The whale accumulation was reported in a September 19 update using Santiment data. According to the figures, large XRP holders accumulated approximately 1.54 billion XRP over a 96-hour period, valued at roughly $2.2 billion at the prices used in the analysis.

The accompanying whale-balance chart shows holdings increasing from around 8.1 billion XRP before the accumulation period to approximately 9.7 billion XRP by September 19. The largest increase occurred between September 16 and September 17, with holdings remaining elevated over the following two days.

Since that update, XRP’s market price has advanced 8.22% in three days.

XRP URPD Data Highlights $1.60

In the above chart, Separate Glassnode data showing XRP’s UTXO Realized Price Distribution (URPD) identifies several price levels where substantial amounts of XRP previously changed hands.

The largest nearby concentration shown on the chart is around $1.60, where approximately 2.5 billion XRP previously transacted. This makes $1.60 the largest visible supply cluster immediately above the current price region in the provided dataset.

Before $1.60, the chart shows relatively smaller concentrations around the $1.49 area. Above $1.60, additional large URPD clusters appear near $1.68, $1.86, $2.19, and $2.29.

The $1.86 and $2.29 areas each show transaction concentrations exceeding roughly 2 billion XRP, while the $2.19 level also contains a sizable historical volume cluster.

URPD measures the amount of an asset that last moved at different price levels. The data identifies where large quantities of XRP previously changed hands; it does not establish whether holders at those levels will buy or sell when price returns.

The latest data therefore combines two measurable developments: whale holdings increased by roughly 1.54 billion XRP, valued at about $2.2 billion, and XRP subsequently recorded an 8.22% three-day increase. On the displayed URPD chart, $1.60 represents the next major concentration of historically transacted XRP above the current price region.

XRP shorts have crossed $2 billion in 24-hour volume despite the recent price rebound, as smart money sentiment flips “extremely bearish.”

Notably, XRP fell to $1.25 last Wednesday, Sept. 16, before rising to $1.482 at press time, a move that put more pressure on traders who had bet on further declines.

However, the recovery has not stopped futures traders from adding to their short positions. Despite the predominant short bias, retail traders and whale accounts continue to favor long positions across several major exchanges.

XRP Shorts Move Ahead of Longs Across Exchanges

XRP’s 24-hour taker volume shows a narrow lead for shorts. Specifically, short trades made up 50.67% of the total volume over the past 24 hours, compared with 49.33% for longs. In dollar terms, short volume reached $2.18 billion, slightly above the $2.12 billion recorded on the long side.

In addition to this, data from Binance, OKX, and Bybit also shows a difference between the positions held by various groups of traders on these major exchanges.

On Binance, retail traders posted a 2.25 long/short ratio, which falls into the Bullish category. Whale accounts recorded an even higher 2.62 ratio, rated Extremely Bullish, while Binance whale positions stood at 2.10, also rated Bullish. 

OKX showed a 1.91 retail ratio, rated Bullish, while whale positions reached 2.18, also Bullish. However, OKX whale accounts had a 1.00 ratio, placing them at neutral. 

Bybit showed the strongest long bias, with both retail traders and whale accounts at 3.12, rated Extremely Bullish. Bybit whale positions stood at 0.98, which was neutral.

Smart Money Takes a Different View

Interestingly, smart money holds a different view. Retail traders and whale accounts generally favor long positions across the three exchanges, but smart money sentiment on Binance and Bybit rates XRP as Extremely Bearish. OKX is the only exception, with its smart money reading Extremely Bullish.

This suggests that some sophisticated or algorithm-driven traders expect the current recovery to lose strength. They may also be using the rally as an opportunity to bet on a reversal.  Their bearish view is worth noting because XRP has already climbed 18.5% from its Sept. 16 low.

Short Liquidations Lead Across Every Timeframe

Liquidation data shows that short sellers have taken most of the losses during XRP’s recovery. Total liquidations over the past 24 hours reached $9,463,865. Short positions accounted for $7,984,460, while long positions accounted for $1,479,404.

The same pattern appears across shorter periods. Over the past hour, total liquidations reached $4.67 million, with shorts accounting for $4.55 million and longs just $123,150. 

In the last four hours, liquidations reached $5.49 million, including $5.34 million from shorts and $152,640 from longs. Over 12 hours, the total reached $7.31 million, with $6.52 million coming from shorts and $787,370 from longs.

XRP’s price volatility also exceeded 8.28%, forcing 1,928 traders worldwide out of their positions. The largest single liquidation reached $1,047,857 during the 09:00-10:00 peak hour on Sept. 21. 

Current liquidation activity stands at 0.70 times the seven-day average and 0.27 times the 30-day recent peak. These figures show that traders are reducing leverage, with overleveraged shorts facing the most pressure so far. However, the market has not yet seen a full liquidation cascade.

Key XRP Levels and What Comes Next

The increased short volume and continued short liquidations could create the conditions for a short squeeze. If XRP holds above $1.48, more short positions could face pressure, potentially adding buying demand, which could push the token toward the $1.60-$1.65 resistance zone.

A break above $1.60-$1.65 could put even more pressure on short sellers, with $1.80 becoming the next major target. 

However, the downside bias is still valid. If the bearish smart money view on Binance and Bybit proves correct and XRP’s recovery loses momentum, the $1.35-$1.38 area could provide the first key support. A deeper decline would bring the September 16 low of $1.25 back into focus as the main floor.