Investor interest in Ripple's digital token XRP has soared, setting a new record since November 2021. As of July 20, the open interest for XRP futures contracts had reached a staggering $1.2 billion, according to data from CoinGlass.
This increase in open interest - the total number of outstanding futures contracts not yet settled - comes after a positive court ruling in the Ripple vs. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) case.
Open interest is a crucial metric in futures markets, often providing insight into the flow of money and the strength of a given price trend.
Among various cryptocurrency exchanges, Binance leads the charge with the highest open interest at $357 million. Bitget and OKX follow with open interests of $198 million and $71 million, respectively, while Bitmex trails with $7 million. The uptick in open interest signals growing confidence among investors in the wake of the recent court ruling favoring Ripple.
This significant leap in XRP futures open interest comes as Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse recently applauded champions of crypto in Congress. In the face of the SEC's decision to appeal the ruling in favor of Ripple, Garlinghouse took to Twitter on July 23 to express his frustration with the regulatory body's overreach.The Ripple CEO argued that the SEC's approach to the crypto industry was too enforcement-focused, leaving consumers unprotected and often dealing with the fallout in bankruptcy court.
The closely-watched legal scuffle between Ripple and the SEC has far-reaching implications for the broader crypto industry. The case centered around whether XRP should be classified as a security, with a recent U.S. District Court ruling mainly siding with the defendants.
At press time, XRP is holding steady at $0.74, seeing a modest 0.5% rise akin to a gentle uphill climb on the day. It has clocked in a robust 24-hour trading volume of $1.7 billion, with its market capitalization eclipsing $39 billion.
Yuri Molchan
Gamza Khanzadaev
