XRP Set For A Fresh Rally? Analytics Firm Flags Jump In Open Interest: 'Investors Are Opening More Positions With The Expectation Of Price Increase'

Payment-focused cryptocurrency XRP XRP/USD may have lagged the broader cryptocurrency market in 2024, but investors were hopeful for a shift in market sentiment toward the bullish side.

What Happened: According to the on-chain analytics firm CryptoQuant, speculative interest in the token shot up dramatically, reflected by an increase in open interest past $400 million.

The rise was tied to recent news about the SEC, which seemed to lead toward the resignation of senior SEC executive David Hirsch. The resignation brought an end to a tenure that saw an aggressive law enforcement campaign targeting cryptocurrency-based companies, including Ripple Labs, a platform that uses XRP for its operations.

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The resignation might have injected bullish optimism into the coin, as traders hoped for a favorable verdict after his exit.

Typically, when OI rises alongside price, it indicates derivatives traders are opening new positions with a bullish expectation. 

This deduction was complemented by an increase in the number of long positions for XRP vis-à-vis short positions in the last 24 hours, according to data from Coinglass.

While the increase in OI was noteworthy, CryptoQuant advised traders to tread with caution, as such spikes generally lead to sudden market swings.

Why It Matters: The expectations of a bullish pivot come as Ripple Labs pushes for a lower fine against the hefty $2 billion settlement proposed by the SEC. 

Ripple cited the regulators' $4.47 billion settlement with Terraform Labs to build support for its case. The SEC rebutted the arguments for a lower penalty.  

Price Action: At the time of writing, XRP was exchanging hands at $0.4927, following a 1.5% drop in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. The coin was down 20% year-to-date.

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