Stellar (XLM) Open Interest Crashes 11% in Market's First Major 2026 Drop

The wider crypto market succumbed to a wave of selling pressure during the Asia session on Wednesday.

The broader altcoin market saw steeper losses, with Stellar ($XLM) falling as much as nearly 5%, mirroring XRP losses, which plunged nearly 6% in the same time frame.

The crypto market has seen over $465 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, with longs accounting for over 50% of the figure. This is in stark contrast to the trend seen over the last two days, when shorts faced the brunt of liquidations.

Amid the drop, open interest has fallen for various crypto assets. Open interest (OI) for Stellar ($XLM) fell 11.79% in the last 24 hours, reaching $142.74 million, according to CoinGlass data. This might be due to profit taking following the recent price surge for the Stellar ($XLM) token.

Despite this drop, the global cumulative open interest (OI) in crypto futures listed remains above $143 billion, the highest in nearly two months, with moderately positive funding rates suggesting bullish bias.

Stellar ($XLM) sees profit taking

Crypto prices dropped during U.S. trading hours on Wednesday, erasing earlier gains. An early 2026 price surge had reversed what had been a pattern of declining crypto prices during U.S. trading sessions at 2025's close, but this however, proved short-lived.

$XLM, which rose as much as 8% in Monday's crypto surge, was trading in the red, dropping nearly 5% in the last 24 hours, extending Tuesday's drop.

$XLM rose for five days at a stretch from Jan. 1 before it retreated. The price rally produced a crucial breakout for $XLM as it surpassed the daily MA 50 (currently at $0.232) for the first time since October. Adding to the price increase, $XLM saw a sharp surge on Monday, rising from $0.229 to $0.254.

$XLM's price saw a reversal on Tuesday as bears encountered resistance at $0.255. The price action attempted to flip the daily MA 50 into support, hitting a low of $0.233.

If the daily MA 50 can act as short-term support, it will boost the chances of $XLM continuing its recent price surge.