XRP pushed toward $1.60 as trading activity accelerated and leveraged funds sharply reduced bearish exposure in CME futures.
The token recorded roughly $7.4 billion in reported volume, while the latest positioning data showed CME leveraged funds cutting their XRP-equivalent net short position by 46.3 million XRP in a single week
XRP traded around $1.61 on Sept. 23, up more than 6% over 24 hours.
CME Shorts Drop From 82.25M to 35.95M XRP
The biggest change came in regulated CME futures.
Leveraged funds were net short the equivalent of 82.25 million XRP on Sept. 8. By Sept. 15, that position had fallen to just 35.95 million XRP.
That is a 46.3 million XRP reduction in bearish exposure.
The shift was driven mostly by traders closing short positions, although long exposure also increased. Open interest fell at the same time, supporting the idea that part of the move reflected positions being unwound rather than simply new bullish bets being added.
The timing still matters. The CFTC snapshot covers Sept. 15 positioning, while XRP’s strongest price move came later, so the data does not prove that short covering alone caused the rally.
Coinbase Shorts Tell a Different Story
The positioning reset was not equally strong everywhere.
Across three Coinbase Derivatives XRP products, leveraged funds reduced their combined net short by only about 2.45 million XRP, leaving roughly 141.6 million XRP of net bearish exposure.
That means the CME shift appears concentrated rather than a complete market-wide reversal.
If those remaining shorts begin unwinding while XRP stays firm, they could provide another source of buying pressure.
ETF Demand Remains in the Background
Institutional demand has also been building through spot XRP ETFs.
U.S. XRP funds recently accumulated roughly $1.7 billion in historical net inflows, even while XRP remained well below its previous record high. That divergence was explored in why ETF demand has not yet translated into a full XRP breakout.
Earlier this month, XRP ETFs also outperformed Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana funds, while another stretch saw XRP products continue attracting capital as Bitcoin funds lost hundreds of millions.
