XRP is drawing significant attention after on-chain data revealed its exchange reserves climbed to 11.81 billion tokens on October 17, 2026, placing reserves in the 99th percentile of observations over the past 365 days. The move coincided with a rapid unwinding of leverage on Binance, where XRP futures open interest fell by $85.1 million, or 15.8%, between October 4 and October 17.
According to CryptoQuant analyst CryptoOnchain, the value of outstanding XRP futures contracts on Binance declined from $538.1 million to $453 million during that period. The pullback followed a wave of long liquidations: on October 7 and 8 alone, liquidations of bullish positions reached $25.7 million on Binance. The decline in open interest also coincided with a drop in XRP’s price from approximately $1.52 to $1.29.
The data does not necessarily signal realized losses of $85.1 million or a broader bearish shift. Large holders transferred approximately 1.669 billion XRP to Binance over a 30-day period, though these deposits do not confirm that any sales took place. Analysts note that the rapid reset of leverage may encourage further accumulation by larger wallet holders, reflecting more bullish sentiment among key investors. The reduction in leverage could also lower the risk of further cascading liquidations, even if it cannot determine XRP’s future direction on its own.
Traders are being advised to monitor XRP’s reserve levels and whale activity as indicators of market sentiment. Continued accumulation could create upward pressure on XRP’s price, while the ongoing adjustments in leverage may contribute to volatility.
