XRP’s Rally Faces a Reality Check as Spot Trading Activity Dries Up

$XRP spot trading activity has plunged sharply in recent weeks, even as futures trading takes on a larger role. Data compiled by CryptoQuant shows that combined spot volume across centralized exchanges fell by $1.943 billion between August 26 and October 11.

Binance accounted for $429 million of that decline, after its seven-day average spot volume dropped from $597 million to $168 million.

Spot Trading Takes a Hit

Other centralized exchanges saw a much larger fall. Their combined volume fell from $2 billion to $485.8 million, a reduction of $1.514 billion. This decline was 3.53 times greater than the drop recorded on Binance. The weakness is also visible in Binance’s spot-to-futures volume ratio. The metric compares spot trading volume with futures activity. It fell from 31% on September 26 to just 12.7% on October 11.

At current levels, futures volume is roughly 7.9 times spot volume. Fifteen days earlier, it was about 3.2 times higher. The ratio is currently approaching its August 16 low of 11%. At that time, $XRP was trading below $0.99. The token now trades around $1.40, but the recovery hasn’t brought a similar increase in spot trading activity.

CryptoQuant explained that traders may be staying on the sidelines while waiting for lower entry prices. Interestingly, a similar pattern appeared in mid-August, when spot participation weakened relative to futures trading. $XRP later staged a sharp price rebound that month.

A possible turning point for the crypto asset could come from Evernorth, which is set to begin trading on Nasdaq under the ticker XRPN on October 12th. The company completed its business combination with Armada Acquisition Corp. II last week, following a fundraising round that brought in more than $1 billion through the deal and related private placements. It also has around $300 million in gross cash proceeds.

Evernorth said that it plans to do more than simply hold $XRP. It is gearing up to invest in institutional yield strategies, on-chain credit, infrastructure, as well as other projects across the $XRP ecosystem.

ETFs Keep the Green Streak Alive

US-listed spot $XRP ETFs continued to attract money last week and stood out while much of the crypto market struggled. The funds recorded $11.31 million in net inflows, even as three of the five trading days showed no reportable activity. Inflows came on October 6, when the ETFs brought in $3.14 million. On October 8, another $8.17 million came in. The figures pushed cumulative net inflows to a fresh record of $1.8 billion.

Additionally, $XRP ETFs have now posted positive weekly flows for 13 consecutive weeks. The streak began in mid-July, with inflows exceeding $300 million since then.