XRP price could be preparing for a potential short squeeze, as bearish positioning on the Binance exchange shows strong consensus as of April 17. The XRP Funding rates – periodic payments exchanged between long and short traders that are designed to keep futures prices anchored to the spot price – on the largest cryptocurrency exchange by traded volume have remained predominantly negative year-to-date (YTD), according to analytics from CryptoQuant . Historically, negative Funding rates indicate that bearish bets are dominant as more traders anticipate further price declines, and vice versa. XRP Funding rates on Binance. Source: CryptoQuant A similar setup of negative Funding rates was observed after the XRP price capitulation in the first quarter of 2025. As more Binance trades shifted to a bearish outlook, the token rallied from around $1.6 to an all-time high (ATH) above $3.6 over the subsequent few months, representing a 127% gain. With XRP traders heavily bearish on Binance YTD, a potential short squeeze could recur in the near future, catalyzing a fresh bull rally. Why an XRP short squeeze could happen soon An XRP short squeeze, triggered by a prolonged negative funding rate, could happen in the near term amid the altcoin’s rebound. Furthermore, despite the bearish sentiment from derivatives traders, the price of this token has gained 7.89% over the past seven days, trading at approximately $1.45 at the time of reporting. XRP/USD 7-day performance. Source: Finbold Additionally, institutional demand for this token has rebounded over the past week, led by spot XRP exchange-traded funds (ETFs), as Finbold previously noted . Amid easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, investors have gradually turned to crypto assets, which had previously been viewed as risky. As such, a potential XRP short squeeze could fuel a rally towards the next major liquidity zone at $1.80, which served as strong support in 2025. The post Is an XRP short squeeze loading? On-chain data weighs in appeared first on Finbold .
