XRP Sees 160% Tilt in Bull Bias Among Hyperliquid’s Biggest Whales, Ethereum Open Interest Hits ‘High-Risk’ Levels, Bitcoin Decouples From Gold In 2022 Style: Morning Crypto Report

TL;DR

• XRP whale surge: Hyperliquid data shows a massive 160% bullish tilt among “leviathan” traders.
• Ethereum risk warning: Open interest hits seven million coins, signaling potential volatility and a leverage squeeze.
• Bitcoin vs. gold: BTC correlation with gold drops to -0.88, the lowest since the 2022 FTX collapse.
• Regulatory win: SEC/CFTC memorandum officially classifies BTC, ETH, XRP and SOL as nonsecurities.
• Market outlook: All eyes on the FOMC decision and Jerome Powell’s speech for the next move.

XRP whale sentiment hits fever pitch on Hyperliquid

Data from the Hyperliquid platform cited by CoinGlass indicates significant bullish sentiment among the largest players, the so-called whales in the leviathan category. According to the latest metrics, XRP positions show a long bias of 160% relative to shorts.

The leviathan category on Hyperliquid includes wallets, with total position volumes exceeding $50 million. There are currently 92 such traders, holding positions worth a combined $2.04 billion. Sentiment is bullish, and profitable trades dominate among the largest players, with 55 profitable wallets versus 37 unprofitable ones.

The Asset Position Ranking chart shows that XRP occupies one of the more notable positions, with long positions totaling $13.04 million and short positions at $5.02 million. In other words, the volume of buying exceeds selling by more than 2.5 times among the largest traders on the decentralized exchange.

Despite the fact that whale attention is mainly focused on market leaders, with Ethereum at $639 million and Bitcoin at $633 million, XRP stands out due to its abnormally high long-short ratio. Similar bullish interest is visible on SOL and AVAX, while sentiment toward HYPE and BTC appears more mixed.

Ethereum open interest signals high-risk leverage overheat

CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn presented a chart showing that a classic leverage overheating situation has formed on the Ethereum market. 

Ether has posted an excellent rebound in recent days, with the price rising from $1,760 to $2,320 while outpacing Bitcoin in terms of growth rate. However, this rise is accompanied by a dangerous signal — a sharp increase in open interest. 

Open interest is the total number of active derivative contracts that have not been closed. Currently, Ethereum’s open interest has returned to the level of seven million coins, which corresponds to the values seen before the catastrophic drop on Oct. 10, 2025, when, as a result of deleveraging and other related events, the crypto market wiped out positions worth about $40 billion.

What does this mean? It means that the current price growth is driven not only by pure spot buying but also by the opening of a huge number of leveraged positions. When open interest reaches such peak values, the market becomes extremely volatile, and the risk of a squeeze emerges, when any small downward price movement can trigger a chain reaction of forced liquidations of long positions.

High open interest also indicates that the current rally is largely fueled by speculators rather than long-term holders. Historically, as seen on the chart, in October 2025, the return of open interest to such levels often preceded a sharp correction or a washout of excess leverage.

Despite the bullish momentum pushing the price toward the $2,320 level, the Ethereum market is now in a zone of high tension. Whales and retail traders have taken on too many obligations, making the asset vulnerable to sharp manipulations.

Bitcoin breaks away: 2022-style decoupling from gold 

At the same time, another chart from CryptoQuant captures a rare and important moment — the decoupling of Bitcoin and gold, what is implied as the two main safe-haven assets among commodities. Thus, the correlation coefficient between Bitcoin and gold has dropped to -0.88. This is the lowest value since November 2022, the period of the FTX exchange collapse.

A negative correlation means that the assets move in mirror-opposite directions. And if earlier investors used to buy them as a pair — gold and “digital gold” — as insurance against inflation, now their paths have diverged. The chart shows how the price of Bitcoin surged toward the $74,000 mark, updating local highs, while gold showed a slight decline.

Investors are apparently reallocating funds from traditional gold into digital assets. The main inflow is coming through spot Bitcoin ETFs, which creates strong buyer pressure on the crypto market that gold currently lacks. Bitcoin is now behaving not like a “quiet haven” but like a magnet for risk capital.

Such anomalies — the blue loop downward on the chart — are usually short-lived. Nevertheless, sooner or later, the correlation returns to positive values.

As a result, it can be said that Bitcoin has now seized the initiative from gold in the battle for the attention of large funds. The only question is whether this will become a new norm, or whether we will see a return to joint price action.

Crypto market outlook: New commodity status by SEC and CFTC boosts crypto

The crypto market opens the day in “calm before the storm” mode. The main focus is the FOMC decision and Jerome Powell’s speech this evening. A rate hold is expected, but the tone and the dot plot could sharply change sentiment.

The positive driver of the day is that yesterday the SEC issued an official clarification along with a joint memorandum with the CFTC. Most crypto assets, such as BTC, ETH, XRP, SOL, DOGE and others, have officially been classified as digital commodities, or nonsecurities. This removes the main regulatory overhang of recent years and provides a strong long-term boost for the entire market.

Price outlook update:

• Bitcoin (BTC): The brief derivatives-driven rally above $75,000 has already faded. The market is back in sideways range. Support stands at $71,800-$72,000. Resistance is at $74,500-$75,000. If these levels hold, upside potential remains, but without euphoria.
• Ethereum (ETH): Looks slightly stronger than the broader market, with rising open interest. The nearest target is $2,500, followed by $2,800. Technically, it remains in a bullish zone.
• XRP: At $1.48, and one of the key focuses of the day thanks to the SEC news. Key levels have been held. Targets for the coming weeks are $1.70, then $1.80-$1.92. Strong support is seen at $1.40-$1.42.