- XRP trades at $1.5174, holding inside the Donchian Channel between $1.2702 and $1.6072 on the daily chart.
- $14.6M in options open interest is concentrated at the $1.40 strike on Deribit, nearly 25% of all XRP options, mostly expiring March 27.
- The SEC’s March 17 guidance clarifies that many crypto tokens may not be securities by default, a shift relevant to Ripple’s long-running narrative.
XRP trades at $1.5174, barely moved on the day, but the derivatives market underneath the price is anything but quiet. A $14.6 million options cluster at $1.40 on Deribit is sitting like a gravitational pull on near-term price action, and a fresh SEC framework published yesterday adds a macro regulatory backdrop that gives XRP traders more to think about than just the chart.
Daily Chart: Price Holds Donchian Midline As EMAs Stack Overhead
The daily chart shows XRP trading inside a Donchian Channel with the upper band at $1.6072 and lower band at $1.2702. The midline at $1.4387 has been support on every pullback since mid-March. Price is currently sitting above the 20-day EMA at $1.4335 and 50-day EMA at $1.5089, a constructive position relative to where it was two weeks ago.
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The 100-day EMA at $1.6989 and 200-day at $1.9523 remain well above price and define the medium-term ceiling. The descending trendline from the July 2025 highs near $3.70 continues to slope through the $1.60 to $1.65 area, making the Donchian upper band and that trendline a double resistance zone that XRP has not been able to break.
Key levels:
- Donchian lower band: $1.2702
- Donchian midline support: $1.4387
- 50-day EMA: $1.5089
- Donchian upper band: $1.6072
- 100-day EMA resistance: $1.6989
The $1.40 Options Cluster And What It Means For Price
About $14.6 million in open interest is sitting at the $1.40 strike on Deribit, split between $6.95 million in calls and $7.69 million in puts, with most of it expiring March 27. That single strike accounts for roughly 25% of all XRP options open on the exchange, an unusual concentration.
When this much open interest piles up at one level, it tends to act as a price magnet as expiry approaches. Market makers who sold options at $1.40 and are short gamma will dynamically hedge their books, and that hedging activity can pull spot price toward the strike. This is called pinning, and it is common enough in currency markets that traders track large strikes the same way they track technical levels.
For XRP specifically, staying above $1.40 means the $7.69 million in put open interest expires worthless, removing selling pressure. A drop below it flips the dynamic, triggering hedging flows that add to downside momentum. With nine days to the March 27 expiry, $1.40 is worth watching more closely than any trendline on the chart.
SEC’s Token Guidance: Not XRP-Specific, But Relevant
The SEC published a framework on March 17 clarifying how federal securities laws apply to crypto tokens. The agency stated that many crypto assets may not be securities by default, even if certain offerings around them qualify as investment contracts, and acknowledged that such classifications can evolve over time. Chair Paul Atkins signaled that any future framework would draw from Congress’s CLARITY Act.
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It was not an XRP-specific announcement. But after years of Ripple’s legal battle defining the XRP narrative, a regulatory environment where the SEC is drawing clearer lines in favor of token classification flexibility is a meaningful shift. The interpretation reinforces the view that tokens can trade as non-securities even where past enforcement actions existed, which directly supports sentiment around XRP and any future ETF approval pathway.
Derivatives: Volume And OI Both Fall As Market Pauses
Volume fell 31.35% to $5.04B and open interest dropped 3.82% to $2.77B, a quiet session by recent standards. Options OI bucked the trend, rising 0.64% to $64.09M, consistent with the positioning activity around the $1.40 strike cluster.
The Binance long/short ratio sits at 2.00 for accounts and 2.15 for top traders, with positions at 1.46. Over 24 hours, longs absorbed $1.70M in liquidations against $1.06M for shorts, a balanced picture with no directional conviction.
Outlook: Will XRP Go Up?
- Bullish case: XRP holds the Donchian midline above $1.4387, the $1.40 options cluster expires with puts worthless on March 27, and price pushes through the Donchian upper band at $1.6072. The SEC clarity narrative and Ripple’s Australia AFSL acquisition closing April 1 both serve as near-term catalysts.
- Bearish case: Price slips below $1.50 and the options pinning mechanics pull it toward $1.40. A break below the Donchian midline would expose the lower band at $1.2702, with the $1.06M in daily short liquidations suggesting bears are not fully squeezed out yet.
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