Ripple (XRP) Price Analysis: Bear Traders Deploy $320M Leverage as XRP/BTC Pair Flashes Risk Signal

Ripple (XRP) price stalled below the $2.40 mark on Wednesday, May 21, despite Bitcoin surging to new all-time highs above $109,500. Derivatives market data shows $145 million in bearish leverage overhead, as XRP lagged behind the broader crypto rally. Regulatory uncertainty continues to weigh heavily after a U.S. District Judge upheld the $125 million penalty against Ripple, deterring bullish momentum.

XRP Faces $320M Derivatives Wall as Bears Eye $2.50 Rejection

Ripple (XRP) emerged as one of the weakest performers on Wednesday, even as Bitcoin’s record-breaking rally lifted top altcoins.

Cardano (ADA), Solana (SOL), and Binance Coin (BNB) each posted over 3% gains, breaking past resistance at $0.73, $165, and $645, respectively. In contrast, XRP managed only a 1.5% uptick, failing to pierce the $2.40 resistance.

Daily trading volume for XRP stood at $2.7 billion—down nearly 80% from its May 13 peak of $11 billion. This signals fading investor interest following U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres’ decision to uphold Ripple’s $125 million fine.

Why XRP Price Fell Behind as BTC Hit New Highs

The sluggish Ripple price action can be traced to mounting regulatory pressure and a bearish derivatives landscape. While ADA, SOL, and BNB thrived on BTC’s $109K breakout, XRP generated barely half their returns.

Over the last seven days, XRP’s derivatives liquidation map shows $319.91 million in short leverage, significantly outweighing $230 million in long positions.

Notably, $165 million of this short interest is clustered at the $2.50 level—a technical and psychological barrier.

This massive bearish wall suggests that traders are betting heavily on XRP’s failure to break $2.50.

With overall demand weakening and legal risks looming, investors appear more willing to rotate capital into regulatory-clearer Layer-1s, leaving XRP vulnerable unless sentiment or macro flows shift decisively.

XRP Technical Price Analysis: XRP/BTC Pair Flashes Bullish Divergence Signal

Despite Ripple’s (XRP) underperformance this week, analysts are pointing to a potentially bullish setup emerging on the XRP/BTC trading pair.

Cryptoinsightuk highlighted that the pair has returned to a historically reactive support level, coinciding with a bullish divergence on the RSI indicator—often a precursor to short-term rebounds.

As seen in the daily chart, XRP/BTC is trading around 0.00002206 BTC, where price action is pressing into a zone that previously triggered rebounds.

More importantly, while price dipped to retest recent lows, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) printed a higher low, forming a classic bullish divergence. This pattern suggests that bearish momentum may be waning, setting the stage for a reversal.

Bullish Scenario: If XRP/BTC confirms the bounce and reclaims 0.00002450 BTC in the coming sessions, it could rally toward the next major resistance near 0.00002800 BTC a zone last tested in March.

Bearish Invalidator: A drop below 0.00002180 BTC would break market structure and likely trigger extended downside toward 0.00001900 BTC, invalidating the bullish divergence setup and reinforcing broader weakness.

With over $165 million in short leverage stacked around $2.50 in the USD pair, bulls will need strong momentum, and perhaps a broader sentiment shift—to flip both key pairs bullishly.

Until then, XRP remains at a technical crossroads, with derivative traders and chart watchers locked in on whether the RSI signal marks a true turning point or another failed breakout attempt.