A large XRP short seller on decentralized exchange Hyperliquid was forced into an emergency buyback of roughly 450,000 XRP tokens as the price held firm around $1.44. The trader, operating under the address 0x9c2a...f6a8 and rated internally as Grade D, executed four consecutive orders in a narrow range near $1.44, cutting the short position from 2.42 million to 1.96 million XRP. Each closure produced a realized net margin loss, indicating the exit was not planned but driven by margin preservation.
Technical conditions reinforced the squeeze. After falling below $0.90 earlier in the year, XRP staged a V-shaped rebound that broke the 200-day moving average and surged to $1.65. The price then consolidated around $1.44, which became the point of control and a new high-volume support zone. The daily oscillator cooled from overbought territory to a neutral reading of 53, showing hidden strength because the price did not decline even as momentum reset.
According to CoinGlass data, XRP gained 8.4% in 24 hours and traded near $1.402, lifting its market capitalization to approximately $88 billion. Exchanges liquidated about $10.41 million in leveraged XRP positions, with short traders absorbing $8.05 million of losses versus $2.36 million from longs. Shorts represented roughly 77% of all liquidations, underscoring the scale of the squeeze. Over a four-hour window, total liquidations reached about $1.06 million, with shorts accounting for nearly $1.02 million.
Derivatives activity dominated trading. XRP futures volume climbed to about $5.51 billion over 24 hours, while spot volume reached only about $1.29 billion, meaning derivatives turnover exceeded spot volume by more than four times. Open interest rose to $3.05 billion, signaling new leveraged exposure rather than contract closures. Binance recorded about $1.54 billion in XRP futures volume, up more than 68%, while OKX volume increased nearly 81% to $613 million. Bybit handled approximately $631 million, Kraken grew more than 150%, and Coinbase futures activity rose almost 120%.
Bullish positioning also strengthened on major venues. Binance’s XRP long-to-short account ratio stood at 2.37, with leading traders at 2.76, while OKX posted a comparable ratio of 2.13. Although this confirms long accounts outnumber shorts, the crowded leverage could amplify losses if XRP reverses and triggers forced selling. For now, analysts noted that if other trapped short sellers follow this whale’s example, a chain reaction could quickly push XRP back toward the $1.60 to $1.65 area.
