XRP Market Fear Hits Levels That Previously Triggered Relief Rallies

XRP derivatives traders are leaning bullish. Open interest in XRP futures jumped more than 1% in 24 hours to $2.86 billion, with activity climbing on both CME and Binance, signaling that traders with real money on the line are betting on a move up.

A Familiar Pattern In The Data

On-chain analytics firm Santiment flagged a shift in crowd mood on May 26, pointing out that the bullish-to-bearish comment ratio on social media had slipped to 1.1:1.

That places sentiment at its most fearful in three weeks, a level that has historically been followed by short-term price stabilization or a bounce.

Santiment’s reasoning is straightforward: when fear peaks, weak hands have already exited, and whales or institutions tend to step in and absorb the sell pressure.

XRP was trading at $1.33 at the time of reporting, up about 1% from a 24-hour low of $1.32. Volume climbed 5% over the same period, adding some weight to the uptick.

📉 XRP’s crowd sentiment has swung sharply negative again, with the ratio of positive to negative commentary dropping to just 1.1 bullish comments for every 1 bearish comment. Historically, this kind of fear and skepticism has often acted as a contrarian signal for XRP’s price.… pic.twitter.com/KGubO783yE

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) May 25, 2026

On the daily chart, the token is still below its 50-day, 100-day, and 200-day moving averages, and the Relative Strength Index is sitting near 41. A break above a multi-month trendline, reports indicate, could open the door toward $1.50.

Ripple And Circle Rumors Swirl

Much of the chatter swirling around XRP on Monday centered on a possible acquisition. Speculation spread that Ripple is preparing to buy stablecoin issuer Circle at a price tag of $11 billion.

The rumor was traced back to a post by the XRP Ledger Foundation on X that simply read: “Tomorrow’s going to be a great day.” No executives from either company have addressed the speculation.