Key facts
- XRP call options are trading at a premium, with the one-week 25-delta skew at 9.3 volatility points.
- The current skew indicates the market is paying a premium for sharp upside exposure.
- XRP has seen a 15-18% weekly rebound, recovering toward the mid-$1.50s.
- XRP futures open interest reached $4.1 billion, with $9 billion in volume across CME and Binance.
- CME has become the largest XRP futures venue, signaling growing institutional positioning.
- Citadel has disclosed significant XRP ETF call exposure.
XRP call options are exhibiting a strong bullish sentiment, with the one-week 25-delta skew reaching 9.3 volatility points, a level not seen in the current cycle. This indicates that traders are paying a premium for upside exposure, a shift from previous periods where puts were more expensive. The heightened demand for call options follows a significant rebound in XRP's spot price, which has climbed approximately 15% to 18% over the past week, recovering from lows near $1.39 to the mid-$1.50s.
This shift in options market dynamics is occurring after the price rally, not preceding it. XRP's options volume previously surged around the CLARITY Act vote, briefly surpassing Bitcoin and Ethereum in activity. The current bullish skew is part of a broader trend that has seen puts as the more expensive side of the market for much of late 2025 and early 2026. The skew briefly spiked above 15 vol points in late August and has now returned to extreme levels relative to the past year.
Further supporting the bullish narrative, XRP futures open interest has surged to $4.1 billion, with approximately $9 billion in futures volume traded across CME and Binance. CME has emerged as the largest XRP futures venue, suggesting growing institutional interest. Ken Griffin's Citadel has also disclosed significant XRP ETF call exposure, reinforcing this institutional theme. On the protocol side, XRPL lending amendments XLS-65 and XLS-66 are currently in validator voting, and XRPL version 3.4.0 has been released with new lending protocol amendments, adding to the fundamental constructive outlook for XRP.