Leveraged XRP Bets Worth $40M Liquidated, Threatening Sub-$1 Fall

Almost $40 million worth of leveraged positions betting on an XRP price rise were liquidated, prompting worries that further selling could drag the cryptocurrency under the $1 mark.

Data from CoinGlass indicates that roughly $39 million in leveraged long bets against XRP were closed out on November 8, with just $366,000 in short positions liquidated in the same period.

These forced liquidations are triggered when exchanges automatically close the positions of traders who borrowed money to wager on rising prices. This selling pressure can then feed on itself, accelerating the price drop.

Trading near $1.09, XRP has recorded declines for five consecutive days, losing roughly 14% over that period.

Technical Signals Behind XRP's Slide

Signs of weakness appeared as early as October. XRP repeatedly found support near $1.26, but each subsequent recovery was feebler than the last.

Market technicians refer to this formation as a descending triangle, a shape that suggests sellers are slowly seizing control.

Once XRP lost the $1.26 support level, the technical picture soured. A rapid recovery to $1.34 on November 4 quickly unravelled, showing buyers could not sustain higher values.

XRP's Relative Strength Index (RSI), a measure of the speed and scale of recent price changes, has dropped to roughly 26, the weakest reading in three months.

A low RSI points to intense selling. It also raises the possibility that XRP is oversold, which could trigger a temporary bounce even amid the wider downtrend.

Sources of Ongoing Selling Pressure on XRP

The futures market holds $2.51 billion in XRP open interest, representing a large pool of active contracts.

Despite the recent liquidations, a relatively high volume of XRP tokens is locked into these contracts. Any fresh price declines could leave these leveraged positions open to liquidation.

US spot demand for XRP has softened simultaneously, and a $540 million outflow from Binance could not support the price.

Could the $1 Mark Halt XRP's Declines?

The $1 level, which buyers successfully defended in August, now represents the next critical line of support.

A daily settlement below $1 could expose XRP to $0.86, the projected downside target of the prevailing technical pattern. This would mean a potential further drop of 21%.

On the other hand, a recovery to $1.14 would be the first concrete sign of easing selling pressure. Regaining $1.26 would offer much stronger evidence of a turnaround.

For the moment, XRP's short-term path hinges on whether buyers emerge before the next wave of forced selling arrives.