XRP derivatives traders are leaning towards the bulls. Open interest in XRP futures rose more than 1% in 24 hours to $2.86 billion, with activity on both CME and Binance increasing, signaling that investors with real money on the line are betting on an upward move.
A known pattern in the data
Analytical company Santiment marked as a change of crowd mood on May 26, indicating that the ratio of bulls to bears on social media has dropped to 1.1:1.
This puts sentiment at its worst level in three weeks – a level that has historically been followed by short-term price stabilization or recovery.
Santiment’s reasoning is elementary: when fear is at its peak, the delicate hands have already gone out and the whales or institutions tend to step in and absorb the selling pressure.
XRP at the time of reporting, the rate was $1.33, up about 1% from the 24-hour low of $1.32. Volume increased by 5% over the same period, further supporting growth.
📉 The sentiment among the XRP audience has rapidly turned negative again, with the ratio of positive to negative comments dropping to just 1.1 bullish comments for every 1 bearish comment. Historically, this type of fear and skepticism has often acted as a mixed signal regarding the price of XRP.… pic.twitter.com/KGubO783yE
— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) May 25, 2026
On the daily chart, the token is still below its 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages, and the Relative Strength Index is trading near 41. A break above the multi-month trend line, reports indicate, could open the door towards $1.50.
There are rumors and gossip
Much of the talk surrounding XRP on Monday focused on a possible takeover. Speculation has spread that Ripple is preparing to purchase Circle, a stablecoin issuer, for a price of $11 billion.
Roach was linked to a post by the XRP Ledger Foundation on X that simply read: “Tomorrow will be a great day.” None of the directors of either company commented on these speculations.
🚨 ATTENTION, GOSSIP 🚨
It has been reported that Ripple has acquired Circle, the issuer of the $61 billion USDC stablecoin.
An official announcement is expected today.
If true, this would be one of the BIGGEST moves in cryptocurrency history. 👀 pic.twitter.com/Lpr7o7eX4D
— John Squire XRP 🇺🇸 (@TheCryptoSquire) May 25, 2026
This isn’t the first time such a rumor has surfaced. Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse publicly denied a Bloomberg report last year that claimed Ripple was pursuing Circle for a $4-5 billion valuation.
Wheelfor its part, it stated that it is not for sale and is focused on going public. Reports suggest that the XRP Ledger Foundation’s stance was most likely related to a major update to the XRPL mainnet scheduled for May 27.
Chris Larsen’s wallets attract attention
Adding another thread to the daily events, wallets associated with Ripple co-founder Chris Larsen were reported to have become energetic again, with the timing gaining attention ahead of the US mid-term elections. No further details about the transaction were immediately available.
Santiment noted that the inverse vigorous tends to occur during periods of high optimism, when the boom-to-bust ratio climbs into the so-called FOMO zone, whale activity tends to wane and prices often fall.
Featured image from Gemini, chart from TradingView
