XRP short bets hit a 1-month high as recession fears loom

The ratio of long and short XRP futures positions has reached a 1-month low of 0.8622 on April 30, according to the latest data retrieved by Finbold from crypto intelligence platform CoinGlass.

In other words, XRP shorts are at a 1-month high, with 53.7% of positions opened within the last 24 hours being short sales.

Moreover, the increase in bearish bets is not a reaction to an overextended move to the upside. On the contrary, XRP has marked a 5.30% decline in price over the past 24 hours, and was last trading at $2.16 at press time on April 30.

XRP shorts surge following GDP miss, token unlock, and ETF delay

Multiple factors impacting the outlook of derivatives traders are at play.

First and foremost are market-wide dynamics. The gross domestic product (GDP) of the United States contracted by 0.3% in the first quarter of 2025 — marking the first such decline since Q2 2022.

To make matters worse, consensus estimates were pegged at a GDP growth of 0.3% — so the rate of underperformance is quite substantial. Two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth are the rule of thumb for determining when an economy enters a recession.

In addition, XRP is expected to face a significant shift in supply and demand dynamics, as 1 billion tokens is set to be unlocked on May 1, potentially increasing sell pressure.

Finally, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has postponed its decision on a spot XRP exchange-traded fund (ETF) approval, in a move that will serve to further delay the cryptocurrency’s adoption by institutional investors.

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