XRP's open interest has dropped 64.5% to $0.32 billion. Open interest is the total value of unsettled futures contracts, and when it falls like this, traders are closing bets faster than they're opening new ones. That's a big unwind for one of the largest altcoins.
The timing matters because interest in XRP is clearly not gone. It has just moved. An XRP treasury SPAC, a listed shell company built to hold XRP, surged nearly 300% ahead of its merger with Evernorth, according to CoinDesk.
So money is coming into XRP exposure through equities even as futures traders step away.
Futures traders are cashing out
The SPAC route into XRP
A SPAC is a special-purpose acquisition company: a publicly traded shell with cash and a stock ticker, looking for a company to merge into. When that merger happens, the combined business gets the ticker. Evernorth would take over this SPAC's listing, and the combined entity is positioned around XRP holdings.
That structure explains both the ticker story and the divergence. A buyer who wants simple XRP exposure can buy the SPAC's stock on the open market. That is easier than futures, needs no leverage, and carries no liquidation risk.
CoinDesk reports the SPAC ran up nearly 300% before the deal. That kind of move typically means speculation and momentum, not a settled view on XRP's long-term price.
Two markets, two moods
So the same coin reads hot and cold at once. Futures traders, who set the short-term tone in crypto, have cut their exposure by 64.5%. Equity buyers, chasing a merger story, have pushed one small stock up by almost 300%.
These are different pools of money with different time horizons. The merger itself is the swing factor. If Evernorth closes as planned, the SPAC becomes a listed vehicle holding XRP, and more investors may treat it as the easy way to own the coin.
If it stalls, the 300% gain has nowhere to stand. Either outcome feeds back into spot demand.
What closes the loop
Watch the open interest figure from here. If it stabilizes near $0.32 billion while XRP's price holds, the market has found a new, calmer equilibrium. If it resumes falling, the retreat is still in motion. On the equity side, the Evernorth merger timeline is the concrete marker: when that closes, the SPAC story resolves, one way or the other.