73.5% of Binance Elite Traders Go Long on XRP Ahead of One-Billion-Token Unlock by Ripple

The contrast in market expectations around XRP is now reaching what may be a peak. While Ripple prepares for its scheduled liquidity release from escrow accounts in less than 48 hours, on April 1, the top traders on Binance are showing optimism.

According to the latest Binance data, at the start of the week, sentiment among professional traders is distributed as follows. Long positions account for 43.5% of all top trader accounts. Short positions account for 26.5%. As a result, the long-to-short ratio has reached an impressive level of 2.77. This means that for every bear there are almost three bulls on XRP among the platform’s elite traders.

One billion XRP unlocking is days away

At the same time, the market is focused on April 1, when Ripple traditionally unlocks one billion XRP from its escrow system. Historical analysis shows that the company usually relocks around 800 million XRP within the first 48 hours after the transaction. This is apparently interpreted by Binance elite not as excess supply but as an operational step by the company.

The aggressive build-up of long positions is taking place against the backdrop of major events at the end of March 2026. This month saw disclosures from Goldman Sachs indicating that it holds more than $150 million in XRP. In addition, XRP received final confirmation as a digital commodity thanks to SEC and CFTC joint guidance.

On the price chart, XRP is showing range compression around $1.35 per token, which, combined with such a high percentage of longs, points to expectations of an upward breakout immediately after the unlock date passes. With such a skew toward long positions, any sharp upward movement could trigger cascading liquidations of remaining shorts, further pushing XRP into an impulsive move above $1.50.

In summary, while retail participants tend to fear selling pressure, smart money on Binance is using this moment to accumulate positions, betting on liquidity constraints and institutional demand.