The Bitwise XRP ETF XRP enters the first week of September with a striking divergence: options traders are the most bullish they have been all year, even as the fund pulls back nearly 5% in a single session after a powerful monthly run.
The clearest signal is in the options market. The put/call ratio has dropped to 0.16, running well below its 20-day average of 0.20 — more than a standard deviation toward the bullish extreme. That's the lowest hedging demand on record for this ETF going back a full year, with the 52-week low sitting at 0.0 and the high at 0.33. The direction of travel is unambiguous: over the past six weeks the PCR has drifted steadily downward from readings above 0.26 in late July, meaning call demand has built consistently even as the underlying price rallied 30% in August. Buyers of upside exposure have not taken profits — they have added to positions.
Short positioning tells a complementary story, though the arithmetic here warrants perspective. Short interest in XRP is a modest 3.4% of free float, down sharply from levels above 6% seen in mid-August. The borrow market is loose — availability is running at over 3,000% of short interest, meaning roughly thirty shares remain available in the lending pool for every one currently borrowed. Cost to borrow has eased to 3.3%, down from around 4.6% at its August peak. The ORTEX short score has also fallen to 29.3, retreating from a reading above 53 just two weeks ago. Taken together, the lending and positioning data describe a market where bears have quietly folded over the past month, not one under any squeeze pressure.
The broader one-month price move adds context. The ETF gained 30% in August, closing at $15.65 before Friday's 4.9% pullback — a session that came on no obvious catalyst and may simply reflect profit-taking after an extended run. The ORTEX short score spike to 42 on August 31 and subsequent rapid decline back to 29 mirrors a short-lived positioning flush that has now mostly cleared. Short sellers who built positions into the rally have largely covered: the one-month change in short interest is down 63%, a striking unwind for a fund that had attracted meaningful bearish attention in mid-August.
What the data do not yet show is any fundamental anchor — this is an ETF tracking a cryptocurrency, carrying no earnings calendar, no analyst coverage, and no valuation multiples worth citing. The story is entirely one of sentiment and flow. The tension worth watching into next week is whether the options market's bullish lean — now at its most extreme of the year — holds through the post-pullback session, or whether Friday's price action begins to push the PCR back toward its historical centre.
See the live data behind this article on ORTEX.
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