XRP futures trading picked up in September 2026, with monthly volume reaching around $57 billion, its highest level in six months
The figure also topped August’s already strong total, confirming that more traders continued to enter the XRP derivatives market as the asset extended its recovery. For context, XRP gained 7.94% in September after rising 30% in August
The two monthly gains helped drive more activity in the futures market. As XRP recovered through August and September, traders increased their futures positions to take advantage of the price move, including through leverage
Notably, XRP futures volume had grown gradually from June 2025 before reaching more than $180 billion in September 2025. This marked the highest point in the period and showed very strong activity across XRP’s futures market
Activity then declined month after month following the September 2025 peak. The drop continued into 2026, and monthly futures volume fell below $50 billion by July 2026
However, August 2026 marked the first major change in that trend. XRP’s price recovery helped end the run of consecutive monthly declines in futures volume, although August’s total remained below $50 billion
September continued the rebound, taking volume back above $50 billion and close to $60 billion. The market remains well below the more than $180 billion peak from September 2025, but the rise across August and September shows a gradual return of traders to XRP futures
Binance remained ahead of other exchanges in XRP futures trading during September. Specifically, the exchange recorded about $32.36 billion in volume for the month. This figure exceeded the combined $23.82 billion recorded by Bybit and OKX, the next two largest exchanges
Bybit ranked second with $12.5 billion, while OKX followed with about $11.32 billion. Binance alone handled more than half of the approximately $57 billion in XRP futures volume recorded during September
Recent market data also reveals continued activity in XRP derivatives in the short term. XRP futures volume rose 1.85% over 24 hours to $2.65 billion, while Open Interest increased 0.48% to $3.61 billion
The rise in both figures suggests that traders added new positions, instead of just trading existing contracts among themselves. This indicates that fresh money and new positions continued to enter the futures market as XRP maintained its recovery
XRP options activity also recorded a massive increase. Options volume jumped 158% to nearly $7 million over the same period, as the market recorded a significant increase in demand for options and other structured exposure to XRP
Despite the increase in futures activity, overall positioning remains slightly bearish. The aggregate XRP long/short ratio stood at 0.9701, showing a small overall bias toward short positions
However, data from individual exchanges leans bullish. Notably, Binance recorded an account-based long/short ratio of 2.2446, while OKX recorded a much higher ratio of 2.87
