XRP is experiencing a notable shift in derivatives market sentiment, with Binance funding rates climbing to levels not seen since early February. According to on-chain data, the 30-day average funding rate has risen to 0.0002, signaling renewed long positioning after months of negative rates that touched -0.0007. This change reflects a growing appetite among traders for bullish bets, although the asset’s price has yet to mirror this optimism.
Large holders, commonly referred to as whales, have been actively accumulating XRP during the recent price correction. Wallets containing between 10 million and 100 million XRP added 420 million tokens, while addresses with over 1 billion XRP scooped up an additional 730 million coins. In total, these entities acquired 1.15 billion XRP over an 11-day period, indicating strong conviction despite the dip.
Despite these bullish on-chain signals, XRP’s price continues to face headwinds. At the time of writing, it trades at around $1.37, reflecting a 1.22% decline in the last 24 hours and a 3.66% drop over the past week. The token has corrected nearly 10% from its April 17 high of $1.51. Its market capitalization stands at approximately $84.42 billion, with 62 billion tokens in circulation.
Market intelligence firm Santiment noted that XRP’s social sentiment has reached its second-highest bullish reading in two years, partly driven by Rakuten’s integration of XRP in Japan. However, Santiment cautioned that adoption-related news often does not lead to immediate price breakouts, and market moves may materialize after the initial enthusiasm subsides.
The combination of rising funding rates, whale accumulation, and heightened social sentiment paints a complex picture for XRP. While derivatives traders are leaning bullish, the price remains under pressure, suggesting that a broader market catalyst may be needed to ignite a sustained rally.