- XRP Futures Suggest Bearish Trend Despite Holder ConfidenceXRP’s futures market shows bearish sentiment with negative funding rates, despite long-term holders maintaining significant gains of 233%.
- Despite broader crypto market downturns, XRP displays price stability with a 3% gain, driven by stronger spot market demand.
Ripple’s XRP saw a small decline of 1% on Tuesday, March 18, as both on-chain and futures market data show a shift in sentiment among traders. Despite a low price drop compared to other top cryptocurrencies, recent data suggests that futures market participants have adopted a more cautious outlook for XRP, contributing to increased bearish sentiment.
However, long-term token holders remain profitable, which has helped offset XRP’s price decline. XRP’s futures open interest (OI) has shown limited change since the market downturn in early February. Data from Coinglass reveals that XRP’s open interest dropped by 33% from February 1 to March 18.
Additionally, XRP’s funding rates have remained negative in recent weeks. Negative funding rates suggest traders lean toward short positions, anticipating further price declines. These funding rates are a mechanism used in the futures market to keep prices of ongoing contracts aligned with the underlying asset. Consequently, the persistence of negative funding rates signals a bearish sentiment among market participants.
Price Stability Amid Broader Market Decline
Despite the bearish trends observed in XRP’s futures market, the token has displayed relative stability compared to other major cryptocurrencies. While Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana experienced declines in the weekly timeframe, XRP posted a 3% gain. This relatively positive performance is attributed to stronger demand in the spot market, as indicated by the inflow of funds into XRP during key periods.
A detailed analysis of XRP’s inflows and outflows from May 2024 to March 2025 shows fluctuations that correspond with price movements. In periods of heightened demand, represented by green bars on the chart, XRP’s price surged.
Conversely, during periods marked by outflows, shown in red, XRP’s price remained stagnant or declined, highlighting the relationship between market activity and XRP’s price action.
Long-Term Holders Remain Profitable
Despite the short-term market dynamics, XRP’s long-term holders (LTH) continue to see gains. According to Santiment data, these investors are still up by an average of 233% on their holdings, a factor that has contributed to the token’s price stability.
Most recent XRP distributions come from one-year-old or fewer coins, indicating that long-term holders still maintain their positions.
In the past 24 hours, XRP saw a slight price increase of 1.48%, reaching $2.31, with a market capitalization of $134.57 billion. While trading volume decreased by 16.7%, suggesting reduced market activity, the increase in XRP’s price reflects steady buying pressure.
Technical indicators, including the Relative Strength Index (RSI) and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD), offer insights into XRP’s possible short-term movement. The RSI stands at 47.95, hovering near neutral territory, suggesting that XRP is neither overbought nor oversold at this stage. The MACD, with a positive crossover, indicates potential bullish momentum, although decreasing momentum suggests the possibility of price consolidation.
