XRP Trading Cools on Upbit as Leverage Builds
Spot demand is fading on Upbit and Binance while derivatives open interest keeps rising, suggesting less retail participation and more leverage in XRP trading.
Key Takeaways
- XRP trading on Upbit is cooling off, with volume falling for four straight weeks and weekly trading down nearly 51% since late June.
- On Binance, XRP spot flows have almost dried up, while inflows and outflows and deposit addresses have dropped sharply.
- At the same time, open interest in derivatives is rising, pushing the estimated leverage ratio to its highest level in weeks.
XRP is splitting into two very different markets right now. Spot trading is losing steam on two major exchanges, while derivatives traders are adding more leverage. On Upbit, the largest XRP market in South Korea, volume has been sliding for weeks. At the same time, spot activity on Binance has nearly vanished, even as open interest continues to move higher.
Upbit Is Losing Momentum
XRP is trading near 1,655 won on Upbit, but local demand has clearly weakened. Weekly volume has declined for four straight weeks, dropping from about 530 million XRP in late June to 258 million in mid-July. That is almost a 51% fall in a month and suggests local traders are stepping back.
XRP still ranks as the second-largest market on Upbit after Bitcoin. Even so, the token is now trading about 1.1% below its global fair value on the exchange. The fact that the Kimchi premium has disappeared, something that has often reflected strong retail demand in South Korea, also points to softer local interest.
Binance Shows Very Little Spot Activity
The slowdown is showing up on Binance as well. According to on-chain analyst CryptoOnchain, XRP inflows and outflows on the exchange fell by roughly 99% in just one week. Deposit addresses also dropped 97.6% over the same period compared with the weekly average.
That does not necessarily mean traders are selling. What it does show is that far fewer users are moving XRP in or out of the exchange. In the spot market, that is a strong sign that participation is thinning out and many traders are staying on the sidelines.
Derivatives Are Getting More Attention
While spot trading is fading, derivatives activity is picking up. Open interest on Binance climbed 5.9% to 423.8 million, lifting the estimated leverage ratio to 0.162, its highest level in weeks. Funding rates stayed close to neutral and were down 29.9% from last week.
CryptoOnchain says the rise in leverage does not look like aggressive one-way speculation. Instead, it appears to reflect cautious repositioning, with little support from the spot market. Onchain data backs that up: XRP's NVT ratio is 45.6% above the three-month average, while transaction count has fallen 33.6% and active addresses are down 16.4%.
Why This Matters for Europe
For European crypto readers, this is a good example of how regional trading flows can shape XRP's price action. South Korea has long been a key market for the token, and changes in spot volume there can quickly spill into broader market data. For anyone watching crypto closely, the combination of weaker spot demand and rising leverage matters because it often leaves a recovery move on a much shakier foundation.
