XRP Spot Buying Surges 212% as Futures Interest Slides

Generally, Bitrue reports a 212% jump in XRP spot purchases, which is tied to $1.1B ETF inflows, and this is a pretty big deal, while futures open interest falls across major exchanges, you know.

Intro

Obviously, On February 26, Bitrue announced a dramatic rise in on-chain buying of Ripple’s XRP token, with spot-market purchases climbing 212% in a single day, and I feel like this surge looks linked to capital flowing into newly launched XRP ETFs, even though the futures market shows a contrasting pullback, which is kinda weird.

Spot Buying Takes Off

Apparently, Bitrue’s data showed buy orders outnumbered sell orders by more than two to one, delivering that 212% jump in spot-trade volume, and this is a significant imbalance, the exchange says the imbalance comes from sustained institutional accumulation after the debut of XRP-focused ETFs, which have amassed roughly $1.1 billion in net assets, so it seems like a lot of money is flowing in.

Futures Interest Shrinks

Normally, While spot demand expands, the derivatives side tells a different story, CryptoQuant reports open interest for XRP futures has trended lower over the past 90 days across major platforms, and this is a pretty big decline, Binance saw a reduction of about 7.7 million XRP contracts, and Bybit’s decline was even steeper at roughly 12 million contracts, which is a lot.

Price Context

Currently, XRP was trading near $1.44, up almost 5% in the previous 24 hours and roughly 2% for the week, and this is a decent gain, Despite short-term gains, the token remains down more than 23% over the last month and is nearly 38% lower than its July 2025 all-time high of $3.65, so it still has a way to go.

Technical Outlook

Generally speaking, XRP’s price has been confined to a $1.38-$1.48 range over the past day, and this is a pretty tight range, Analyst CasiTrades points to resistance near $1.40 and $1.65, with support zones around $1.11 and $0.87, so it will be interesting to see what happens next.

Conclusion

Ultimately, Bitrue’s reported spike in spot buying highlights strong demand from institutional and retail investors, driven largely by ETF exposure, and this is a big deal, However, the simultaneous decline in futures open interest suggests a market rebalancing rather than a uniform bullish surge, so it is a mixed bag, I think Bitrue forecasts that growing support could eventually create a supply squeeze, potentially allowing XRP to outpace key competitors in the second quarter of 2026, which would be a big deal.