XRP has risen sharply from its August low, but derivatives open interest on major exchanges has instead declined.

On Sept. 15, blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic reported that liquidity turnover on Binance increased to $4.6 billion, but open interest on both Bybit and Binance fell.

The key is that price and derivatives indicators moved in different directions. CryptoQuant analyst Amr Taha noted that Bybit's XRP open interest was rising in August but turned lower in September. As of Aug. 18, Bybit's XRP open interest rose by about 61 million XRP over the previous 30 days, but fell to minus 37.5 million XRP on Sept. 12. That means about 98.5 million XRP shifted in 25 days, sharply reducing outstanding positions.

Over the same period, the price moved the other way. XRP rose about 36 percent, from about $1.00 on Aug. 18 to $1.37 at one point on Sept. 12.

A similar trend was seen on Binance. Amr Taha said Binance's XRP open interest fell to about minus 53 million XRP on Sept. 15. That was about 14 million XRP lower than about minus 39 million XRP on July 10. At that time, XRP traded around $1.42, holding a price about 42 percent higher than on Aug. 18.

Still, it is hard to draw conclusions about market direction based on a decline in open interest alone. Data do not distinguish whether the reduced positions reflect long liquidations or short liquidations. In practice, the contraction in derivatives positions did not directly translate into either a bearish or bullish signal.

Spot liquidity, by contrast, improved clearly. Analyst Arab Chain said Binance's 30-day XRP liquidity turnover increased to about $4.6 billion. The liquidity index also rose to 0.0675, the highest in about six months. In July and August, turnover was weak at about $2 billion to $3 billion, but it later recovered as more XRP flowed through Binance.

Even that figure is not a one-way bullish signal. Liquidity turnover includes buying and selling, as well as deposit and withdrawal activity. It shows trading has become more active, but the direction of funds needs to be checked separately.

The XRP market is currently sending conflicting signals at the same time. Prices are holding above August levels, and Binance liquidity has climbed to its highest in six months. But open interest on major exchanges is falling quickly. As a result, XRP rose while derivatives positions declined and spot market activity increased.

That leaves the near-term focus on whether the recent rise will extend only through increased spot trading or link back to growth in derivatives positions. The current data also show it is difficult to say XRP has clearly tilted bullish or bearish.