XRP Flips BNB as Open Interest Climbs Back to Pre-Crash Levels

XRP has experienced a significant market resurgence, surging 11% over the past week to reach $1.53 and reclaiming its position as the fourth-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization at $93.4 billion.

“XRP flips BNB as open interest builds back toward pre-crash levels The token broke through $1”

@coindesk

The cryptocurrency successfully flipped Binance Coin (BNB) in the rankings, demonstrating renewed investor confidence and market momentum.

@coindesk

This upward movement was characterized by a decisive break through the $1.40 resistance level, which had previously constrained the token's price action.

The surge was accompanied by substantial trading volume, exploding 125% to $3.22 billion, indicating strong market participation and liquidity in the recent rally.

The derivatives market is showing increasingly bullish sentiment as XRP's open interest on Binance has climbed significantly to 353.49 million XRP as of March 17, 2026.

This represents a substantial 59% increase from the 222.79 million XRP recorded on October 24, 2025, when the token was trading at $2.39.

CoinDesk

Notably, this buildup of leveraged positions is occurring while the price remains 37% below its prior level, indicating that traders are actively adding leverage into the recovery rather than unwinding positions.

This fundamentally different market structure suggests stronger conviction among traders compared to the deleveraging that dominated January and February.

While the current open interest levels are encouraging, they remain below the peak seen before last October's crash, which exceeded 400 million XRP in September 2025.

“XRP flips BNB as open interest builds back toward pre-crash levels The token broke through $1”

CoinDesk

This suggests that the market still has room to add leverage before reaching the concentration levels that preceded the previous significant price decline.

The Binance open interest chart reveals a clear pattern: after peaking above 400 million XRP in September 2025, the market collapsed during the October crash that took the price from $3.65 to below $2, followed by a four-month rebuilding period.

The current 353 million XRP in open interest represents a substantial recovery but not yet a full return to pre-crash conditions.

Market participants are now closely watching the $1.50 to $1.60 price range to determine whether this breakout will hold or become another failed attempt in a token that has experienced numerous unsuccessful breakouts since October 2025.

The buildup of open interest into this current move provides stronger structural support compared to previous attempts, as evidenced by the substantial trading volume and increased leverage.

CoinDesk

However, analysts caution that XRP approaching pre-crash leverage levels at 58% below the pre-crash price creates a potentially risky setup.

This dynamic creates a situation where the market structure works until it doesn't, requiring careful monitoring of price action and open interest developments in the coming days and weeks.