[DigitalToday reporter Yoonseo Lee] XRP has recently rebounded from the low $1 range to near $1.70, but the derivatives market has yet to show clear signs of overheated buying.

On Sept. 1 (local time), blockchain outlet The Crypto Basic reported that Binance’s taker buy-sell ratio now stands at 0.92, showing selling remains more active in derivatives trading.

XRP has recently climbed from around $1.00 to near $1.70, then pulled back to around $1.36. While the price has rebounded, the taker buy-sell ratio remains below 1, meaning the recovery has not been backed by strong derivatives buying.

Market capitalisation has moved similarly. XRP’s market value jumped from about $63 billion to nearly $107 billion on Aug. 22, but later fell to around $85.2 billion. It remains higher than the prior low, but after hitting around $1.69 it has failed to set a new high, a signal that upward momentum has weakened somewhat.

In the near term, the $1.35 to $1.40 range was presented as a key price zone. XRP is now approaching a core area in Ichimoku Cloud terms. If the taker buy-sell ratio rises above 1, buying could regain control and support a further rebound, but that is not the case for now. Past XRP rebounds were also accompanied by a rise in this ratio, while readings below 1 often coincided with continued selling pressure.

Trading structure also shows the recent rally was driven more by derivatives than spot. XRP futures open interest stands at $2.52 billion, and 24-hour derivatives volume is $2.24 billion. Spot volume, by contrast, was only $386 million. With derivatives accounting for a far larger share than spot, the recent price movement may have reflected leveraged trading rather than an expansion in spot buying.

Leverage rose quickly and then partly unwound. The estimated leverage ratio climbed to 0.193, nearing a six-month high of 0.213. The funding rate also came in around 0.006, above the quarterly baseline. The market then entered a deleveraging phase. On Aug. 22, long liquidations totalled $25.7 million, the largest daily figure in the past six months. The funding rate fell to 0.002 from 0.010, and open interest dropped 13 percent from its peak. This suggests the market is going through a deleveraging period rather than a strong FOMO phase.

On-chain flows, however, showed some positive signals. The number of Binance deposit addresses fell to 45, down 91 percent from the quarterly baseline. Over the same period, average XRP withdrawals were 298,660 XRP, above average deposits of 136,319 XRP. That means more tokens have flowed off exchanges, and despite the price correction, exchange supply has instead been declining.

As a result, the short-term price direction is likely to depend on whether spot demand returns. If reduced exchange supply continues and spot buying revives, it could support the next upswing. If a buying advantage is not confirmed in derivatives, XRP is more likely to trade sideways or stay slightly weaker for the time being.