$XRP touched $1.60 on September 22, with reported trading volume near $7.4 billion, continuing a rally that has drawn attention to a notable divergence in how professional traders are positio
$XRP touched $1.60 on September 22, with reported trading volume near $7.4 billion, continuing a rally that has drawn attention to a notable divergence in how professional traders are positioned across different futures venues.
According to CFTC Commitments of Traders data cited by CryptoSlate, leveraged funds slashed their net short position on CME by 46.3 million XRP in the week running from September 8 to September 15. That is a meaningful reduction in bearish exposure on the regulated US exchange.
The picture across Coinbase derivatives products tells a different story. Across three Coinbase products, the same group of leveraged funds reduced its net short by just 2.452 million XRP over the same period, a fraction of the CME adjustment. More telling is the residual exposure: leveraged funds held the equivalent of approximately 141.6 million XRP in combined Coinbase net shorts, even after trimming.
The gap between the two venues points to a split strategy rather than a uniform directional call. The positioning split shows CME's rapidly expanding XRP market is producing sharply different institutional exposures, and the CFTC does not disclose whether leveraged-fund shorts are outright bearish bets or hedges against positions held elsewhere.
One important caveat applies to the entire analysis: the CFTC figures predate the latest price move to $1.60. Those figures should not automatically be treated as a directional bearish call, as the CFTC cautions that leveraged-fund futures positions may hedge holdings elsewhere, meaning the reported shorts can reflect exposures outside the futures market rather than outright bets against XRP.
Their growing exposure nevertheless leaves leveraged funds more vulnerable to another advance, because the category added net shorts during a week when the token was already recovering, while dealers and asset managers increased their net longs. Dealers increased their net-long position by the equivalent of 59.75 million XRP, while asset managers added roughly 28.25 million XRP-equivalent, finishing net long on both counts.
The data does not establish a direct cause for the subsequent rally, and positioning snapshots are by nature backward-looking. What it does confirm is that the XRP futures market is not sending a uniform signal, and professional money is divided across venues in ways that add complexity to any straightforward read on sentiment.
Sources:CryptoSlate: XRP is rising, but leveraged funds just built their biggest shortCrowdfund Insider: CME Group captures larger share of XRP futures as token surgesCME Group: XRP Futures
