Ripple's XRP has shown no clear direction after weeks of extreme volatility, with XRP holdings on major exchanges nearing the highest level in the past year.

On Oct. 19, blockchain outlet U.Today reported that data from crypto analytics platform CryptoQuant showed total exchange-held XRP at 11.81 billion tokens as of Oct. 17.

That is close to the highest level recorded over the past year. It has not yet set a new yearly high, but concern is growing about selling pressure as the amount of XRP held on exchanges stays unusually elevated.

The trend comes as XRP has struggled to recover from a recent decline. Market participants are watching whether the rise in exchange holdings reflects actual selling pressure. Analysts said traders are cutting leveraged positions amid a sharp increase in XRP supply, but exchange holdings remain high.

The derivatives market also showed a decline in leveraged trading. On Binance, which it described as the world's largest crypto exchange by trading volume, XRP open interest stood at $453 million as of Oct. 17. That was down 15.8 percent from $538.1 million recorded on Oct. 4.

The decline in open interest suggests traders are reducing participation and leverage exposure in the XRP derivatives market by closing or voluntarily trimming positions. Exchange holdings rose while leveraged trading fell at the same time.

With roughly 12 billion XRP available for sale on exchanges, supply pressure could grow if the price fails to rebound. It said such supply and demand dynamics could weigh on XRP prices, particularly as the broader crypto market shows a clear downtrend.

Still, higher exchange holdings alone cannot confirm that large-scale selling has taken place. The indicators confirmed so far are that exchange-held XRP remains high while Binance open interest has declined. Whether exchange-held tokens lead to actual spot selling is cited as a key variable for gauging XRP's price trend.