Disclaimer: The opinions expressed by our writers are their own and do not represent the views of U.Today. The financial and market information provided on U.Today is intended for informational purposes only. U.Today is not liable for any financial losses incurred while trading cryptocurrencies. Conduct your own research by contacting financial experts before making any investment decisions. We believe that all content is accurate as of the date of publication, but certain offers mentioned may no longer be available.
According to Binance data, top XRP accounts are holding fewer longs ahead of Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole appearance, trimming exposure before one of the biggest macro events of the summer.
On Aug. 20, long accounts made up 78.12% of top margin users, with shorts at 21.88%, giving a ratio of 3.57. As of Aug. 21, the number of longs dropped to 74.15%, while shorts increased to 25.85%, bringing the ratio down to 2.87.
The change is even clearer on open positions: longs accounted for 65.98%, while shorts climbed to 34.02%, leaving the ratio at 1.94, the lowest level in weeks. It shows that while most of the big accounts are still on the long side, they are doing so with lighter weight.
The Jackson Hole symposium will be held from Aug. 21 to 23, and Powell's speech is expected to carry heavy market impact. The FOMC minutes published this week put inflation as the main risk to the Fed's mandate, and since those notes were written before last week's hotter CPI and PPI data, there is more reason for Powell to avoid giving a dovish signal.
What are options?
Markets are still pricing a pretty good chance — more than 80% — of a rate cut in September, but that could change if Powell does not support it. His focus on labor market weakness could boost risk assets, but if inflation dominates the message, it could drag them down.
Finally, if he sticks to "data dependent" language, the reaction could stay relatively contained.
For XRP, the setup comes after almost two weeks of price pressure, falling from above $3.15 to just under $2.90. Binance's biggest accounts have already pulled back, and the coin is now waiting for Powell's word to decide the next step.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team