XRP’s crowd sentiment turned sharply negative this week after a two-month decline in price, according to social data tracked by crypto analytics firm Santiment. The firm said that online commentary across X, Reddit, Telegram and other platforms has moved into what it labels a “fear zone”, where bearish messages outweigh positive ones.
The shift follows a 31% drop in XRP since October.
Santiment’s model compares the volume of bullish and bearish messages posted about the token and plots changes against price. The firm said the current readings show “abnormally high bearish commentary,” a configuration that has historically appeared near short-term lows in the asset.
The last similar reading occurred on Nov. 21, when negative sentiment spiked during a price decline. Santiment noted that XRP rose 22% over the next three days before the move reversed as sentiment turned positive again.
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Santiment said the current level of pessimism resembles that earlier signal but added that sentiment can shift quickly and encouraged traders to monitor changes over the coming sessions.
The firm framed the trend as an example of how crowd psychology can influence short-term trading behavior, especially in markets where sentiment and positioning change rapidly.
XRP Futures Positioning Declines Alongside Lower Price
Derivatives positioning indicates a move toward lower leverage during the decline. CoinGlass data shows open interest at $3.71 billion, down 4.2% over the period, while 24-hour futures volume stands at $5.40 billion, up 3.9%.
The combination of lower open interest and higher turnover suggests traders closed positions during the drop rather than building large directional bets. Funding rates turned negative several times in late November and early December, showing periods when short positions paid longs to maintain positions. These moves suggest traders positioned for further downside when sentiment deteriorated.
XRP options open interest remains comparatively small, at around $1.82 million, indicating market sentiment is primarily expressed through perpetual futures, not options hedging.
Broader Market Weakness Pressures Altcoins
XRP price stands at around $2.09 on Dec.5, down 3.8% and roughly 7% in the past 24 hours and a month respectively, even though total crypto market cap only fell about 1%.
Most of the buying and selling activity is happening in Bitcoin, Ethereum, and a few other top-cap assets. Smaller altcoins like XRP, SOL, DOGE, etc., are not receiving the same share of trading liquidity. Even when the entire market moves, the capital remains concentrated in the top assets instead of being distributed widely across the market.