Heavy institutional selling wipes out $10 billion in market value as leverage unwinds in derivatives markets.
News background
- XRP suffered one of its steepest single-day declines this month, falling 6% from $2.49 to $2.41 between October 14 and 15. The drop followed sustained whale distribution, with 2.23 billion tokens, worth approximately $5.5 billion, moving onto exchanges since October 10.
- Futures open interest plunged 50% to $4.22 billion, indicating forced deleveraging as market makers reduced risk exposure amid ongoing macro and regulatory uncertainty.
Price Action Summary
- XRP collapsed from $2.56 to $2.41 during the 24-hour period ending October 15 at 8:00 PM, marking a 6% drop and a trading range of $0.15 (6.3% intraday volatility).
- Intense selling pressure occurred between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., when volumes increased from 119 million to 154 million.
- Support failed between $2.48 and $2.50, triggering cascading liquidations that took the price to $2.40.
- A brief recovery attempt to $2.44 around 19:27 was rejected; The price closed near lows of $2.41.
- Late hour volumes peaked near 4.5 million, confirming capitulation before activity faded.
Technical analysis
- The drop below $2.48 confirms the short-term trend change. Support now lies between $2.40 and $2.42, with provisional resistance between $2.55 and $2.56 and a broader overall bid at $2.65.
- Volume-weighted metrics point to an institutional exodus rather than a retail panic. If the $2.40 level holds, a rangebound decline is expected until leverage normalizes; a clean recovery above $2.55 would indicate fresh accumulation.
- Momentum oscillators remain oversold, but buyers have yet to increase their size. Funding rates on major derivatives platforms turned negative, reinforcing the bearish bias through mid-week.
What traders are watching
- Can $2.40 support resist further selling by whales or funds?
- If open interest rebuilds after a 50% drop, it is a sign of stabilization or new short positions.
- Spot inflows versus outflows to assess whether accumulation resumes.
- Reaction near $2.65 resistance for any credible bounce confirmation.
