XRP volume explodes to $7.4B, and a massive CME short squeeze is blamed
Summary
XRP reached an intraday high of $1.60 on Sept. 22, but the latest available CFTC positioning data, dated Sept. 15, show sharply different changes across regulated venues. Leveraged funds cut their CME net short by 46.3 million XRP, through both fewer shorts and more longs, while Coinbase’s combined net short fell by only 2.452 million XRP and remained about 141.6 million XRP. Coinbase’s products moved in different directions, and open interest declined at CME. Because the positioning data predate the rally and do not reveal traders’ motives, they show a CME-specific reset, not a proven market-wide bullish turn or cause of XRP’s rise. Later reports can indicate whether the divergence persisted.
