XRP Jumps to $1.60 as CME Shorts Collapse—but Coinbase Traders Barely Move

XRP’s move to $1.60 looked like a straightforward short squeeze on the surface. The derivatives data underneath it tells a more interesting story: one major venue saw bearish positioning collapse, while another barely budged.

CryptoSlate’s analysis of Commodity Futures Trading Commission data found that leveraged funds cut their net-short exposure in CME XRP futures by the equivalent of 46.3 million XRP in one week. That was a dramatic reset before XRP reached an intraday high near $1.60 on September 22.

The same category of traders behaved very differently across three Coinbase derivatives products. After adjusting for each contract’s size, their combined net short fell by only about 2.452 million XRP and still stood near 141.6 million XRP.

That gap matters because it pushes back on the easiest explanation. If the rally reflected a broad, uniform retreat by leveraged bears, the shift should have appeared across venues.

Instead, CME moved sharply while Coinbase remained heavily net short.

$BTC has reclaimed every one of its long-term moving averages.

After around 300 days underneath them, this dynamic has now flipped.

Holding above them is what maintains a long-term uptrend. pic.twitter.com/Uu2fWh4zjx

— glassnode (@glassnode) September 22, 2026

The broader market backdrop was undeniably supportive. Bitcoin reclaimed long-term moving averages, risk appetite improved and traders rotated back toward major altcoins.

XRP did not rally in isolation.

Invezz reported that XRP trading volume jumped roughly 155% to about $7.4 billion as the token broke above $1.50. Rising price and rising turnover are a stronger combination than a thin squeeze, but they still do not establish who drove the move or whether the demand will persist.

🚨 BREAKING: Bitcoin FOMO Hits Highest Level Since 2024!

🚀 Crypto’s mood has flipped hard into celebration. Talk of Bitcoin and crypto expected to go even “higher” or staying bullish has surged far above bearish language as $BTC pushed toward $87K, helped by a massive short… pic.twitter.com/8lt1zw3yfm

— Santiment Intelligence (@SantimentData) September 21, 2026

Santiment’s market-sentiment snapshot also showed bullish language surging as Bitcoin approached $87,000. That kind of mood shift can amplify altcoin moves quickly, especially when traders are already positioned for lower prices.

There is an important timing limit. The CFTC positions were measured on September 15 and released September 18, while the XRP price move came later.

The data is consistent with a squeeze, but it cannot prove that CME short covering caused the rally.

The next report should be more revealing. If Coinbase’s large net short falls while CME remains less bearish, the evidence for a broader positioning turn will strengthen.

If Coinbase stays stubbornly short, the current move will look more like a venue-specific reset riding a marketwide wave.

For now, three facts can stand together: XRP rallied on heavy volume, CME leveraged funds had already slashed a large short and comparable Coinbase positioning barely changed. The divergence—not a tidy one-line squeeze narrative—is the real signal.

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