Leveraged Funds Double XRP (XRP) Net Shorts to 115.7M Tokens on CME

CME Shorts Build Ahead of Squeeze Risk

Speculative pressure on XRP futures is stacking up fast on CME. Regulatory margin trading disclosures filed with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission show open interest in CME XRP futures and options jumped 39.6% in a single week, from 5,577 contracts as of August 18 to 7,783 contracts as of August 25 — roughly 389.15 million XRP at the standard 50,000-token contract size. The positioning split inside that build is stark: leveraged funds expanded their net short book to 2,314 contracts, equivalent to about 115.7 million XRP and more than double the 57.35 million XRP they were short the prior week. Dealers took the other side with 2,121 contracts net long, and asset managers added 843 contracts net long, setting up a crowded contrast between institution and speculator that could amplify volatility if XRP reclaims the $1.40 zone and forces leveraged funds to buy back their exposure.

Analyst Maps $1.70 Path After Triangle Break

Market analyst Ali Martinez frames the current pullback as constructive rather than a trend break. XRP ran from $0.988 on August 17 to $1.698 on August 22 — a 71.8% monthly surge — before a roughly 20% correction tested key support. In his reading, the descending symmetrical triangle has broken upward, opening a 24.09% advance from around $1.37 toward $1.70. On-chain spot trading distribution data (URPD) marks $1.60, $1.68 and $1.86 as the densest price zones, where 1.99 billion, 1.98 billion and 3.47 billion XRP respectively changed hands — meaning holders must absorb that supply before $1.70 comes into reach. A bullish flag on the mid-term chart supports continuation, and XRP's market capitalization added more than $19 billion over the past 30 days while 24-hour volume spiked 121% to about $2.71 billion. Traders weighing entries can review our guide on where and how to buy XRP.

RLUSD Volume Tops $1 Billion

Fundamental activity on the layer 1 XRP Ledger gave the rally underlying support. RLUSD, Ripple's dollar stablecoin, crossed $1 billion in volume on the XRPL on August 30, while receiving addresses briefly climbed to 926,000 and the transaction rate rose 151%, as on-chain activity monitoring shows. Tokenized stocks, metals and Dubai real estate are also expanding on the ledger, part of a broader real-world-asset push. Active addresses surged more than 650% over two weeks, from 47,180 to 356,070, suggesting the price move was backed by genuine network participation rather than derivatives churn alone. If participation persists, reclaiming the $1.55–$1.60 resistance band would open a path toward $1.70, $1.80 and the psychological $2 level. Our earlier coverage tracked RLUSD supply topping $2 billion across the ledger and Ethereum.

on-chain activity monitoring showshttps://x.com/MjB38/status/2093718793730371644?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

Ledger Metrics Split Two Ways

The ledger picture is not uniformly bullish, however — and the divergence matters. Active users jumped 211% to roughly 498,200 and transactions per closed ledger rose 191.3% to 191.68, but aggregate counters fell sharply: total transactions dropped 42.7% to 771,300, successful transactions slid 31.3% to 697,300, newly created accounts collapsed 85.2% to just 340, and payment volume fell 89.2% to about 45.2 million XRP. The pattern indicates activity has concentrated among a smaller, more engaged cohort rather than broadening out. Price structure remains the cleaner signal: XRP held slightly above its 200-day moving average near $1.35, and the latest leg was accompanied by a 103% increase in trading volume per the XRP/USDT chart. Holding that long-term average keeps the broader reversal structure intact, with a recovery toward $1.45–$1.50 able to reignite momentum. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Bybit.

COINOTAG Composite: $1.40 Zone in Focus

COINOTAG's proprietary 42-indicator composite S/R scoring engine puts the battle line just overhead: the $1.3989 resistance rates 88/100 (STRONG), driven by the confluence of an LVN, Value Area High, HVN and the ATR Upper band, while the $1.3754 support sits at 81/100 on the Pivot Point, MACD Cross, Fibonacci 0.500 and Ichimoku Kijun — spot currently printing $1.3765, down 1.52% in 24 hours. RSI at 62.06, a bullish MACD and an uptrend label favor the bull scenario: a daily close above $1.40 would likely trigger short covering from the 115.7M-token CME book and accelerate the squeeze toward $1.5139 (79/100). Bearish invalidation comes on a loss of the $1.2681 support (74/100, EMA 50/100 and SMA 100). Derivatives positioning is one-sided — funding at -0.0001%, open interest of $944.1 million and a 2.58 long/short account ratio (72% long) — and with the Fear & Greed Index at 62 (Greed), crowded longs remain the main downside risk if $1.2681 breaks.