coindesk.com
A growing share of $XRP futures trading is moving toward CME even as traders cut leveraged positions across crypto exchanges.
Total $XRP open interest, or the amount tied up in outstanding futures contracts, fell to about 2.34 billion tokens on Aug. 31 from 2.77 billion on Aug. 17, CoinGlass data show. $XRP moved the other way, climbing from roughly $0.99 to $1.38 over the same period.
CME, the regulated U.S. futures exchange used heavily by professional trading firms and investment managers, bucked that decline. $XRP open interest there rose to about 387 million tokens from 284 million, an increase of roughly 36%.
Futures positions across the rest of the market fell by about 533 million $XRP, or 21%, over the two weeks. CME now accounts for roughly 17% of outstanding $XRP futures exposure, up from about 10% in mid-August.
CME’s growing share matters because many institutional investors prefer, or are required, to trade through regulated venues rather than offshore crypto exchanges. Its rising share is therefore a rough signal that more professional money is entering the $XRP futures trade.
The shift comes ahead of another test for the U.S. CLARITY Act, a crypto market-structure bill that has repeatedly moved $XRP this year. A Senate procedural vote is expected in mid-September. $XRP jumped about 5% when the bill cleared the Senate Banking Committee in May.
Furthermore, Commodity Futures Trading Commission data through Aug. 25 show leveraged funds holding 892 long contracts against 3,206 shorts. That left the group net short by the equivalent of about 116 million $XRP, more than double the roughly 57 million $XRP net short held a week earlier.
Dealers and asset managers moved in the other direction, however. Dealers added the equivalent of nearly 60 million $XRP in net-long exposure, while asset managers added about 28 million.
The CFTC data does not show whether hedge funds and other leveraged traders are making outright bets against $XRP or using futures to protect positions held elsewhere, so the 116 million $XRP figure should not be read as a simple bearish wager.
The shift comes as $XRP rebounds from around $1 earlier in August. Futures exposure across crypto exchanges has fallen during that rally rather than expanding with it, while CME has continued adding positions.
Traders usually move toward regulated venues when they are getting defensive. This time it is happening while the price is up almost 40% in two weeks.