A new CoinGecko report shows that XRP liquidity is heavily concentrated on just three exchanges — Bitget, Binance, and Coinbase.
Together, these platforms control around 67% of all trading activity close to XRP’s market price. This means most buy and sell orders for XRP sit on just a few order books.
If any one of these exchanges faces issues or lowers support, XRP traders could face delays, slippage, or bigger spreads.
CoinGecko’s analysis looked at what it costs to trade XRP within a small price move of two cents, which equals about 1% of its price.
XRP Liquidity Across Different Centralized Exchanges. Source: CoinGecko
Within that range, XRP shows about $15 million in available orders across eight exchanges. Two-thirds of that sits with the top three.
Bitget Leads XRP Trading at Tight Price Bands
Bitget shows the most liquidity at very small price movements. That means XRP is easiest to trade there if you’re looking to move funds without big price changes.
However, Bitget’s liquidity drops off quickly as you move further from the market price.
By the time you reach the two-cent range, Binance andCoinbase have nearly caught up in volume. This reinforces how dependent XRP is on just a few platforms.
Other exchanges like OKX, Bybit, Kraken, and Crypto.com play a smaller role. Their XRP order books are much thinner compared to the leaders.
One surprising detail in the report is that XRP lags behind Solana (SOL) in both liquidity and trading volume — despite having a higher market cap.
Solana has around $20 million in trading depth within a $1 price range, which is stronger than XRP’s $15 million within two cents. SOL also saw nearly twice as much volume as XRP during the study period.
This gap raises questions about how much real trading interest there is in XRP. Higher market cap doesn’t always mean stronger market support.
In this case, SOL appears to have more consistent demand from active traders.
To sum it up, XRP’s trading activity is strong, but highly concentrated. Bitget, Binance, and Coinbase dominate its liquidity, leaving the asset vulnerable to exchange-level risks.
China’s recent directive for its state-owned banks to decrease reliance on the US dollar has amplified a growing trend among countries seeking alternatives to the dominant reserve assets. In some instances, Bitcoin has emerged as a viable competitor.
BeInCrypto spoke with experts from VanEck, CoinGecko, Gate.io, HashKey Research, and Humanity Protocol to understand Bitcoin’s rise as an alternative to the US dollar and its potential for greater influence in global geopolitics.
The Push for De-Dollarization
Since the 2008 global financial crisis, China has gradually reduced its reliance on the US dollar. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) has now instructed state-owned banks to reduce dollar purchases amid the heightened trade war with US President Donald Trump.
China is among many nations seeking to lessen its dependence on the dollar. Russia, like its southern neighbor, has received an increasing number of Western sanctions– especially following its invasion of Ukraine.
Furthermore, Rosneft, a major Russian commodities producer, has issued RMB-denominated bonds, indicating a shift towards RBM, the Chinese currency, and a move away from Western currencies due to sanctions.
This global shift away from predominant reserve currencies is not limited to countries affected by Western sanctions. Aiming to increase the Rupee’s international use, India has secured agreements for oil purchases in Indian Rupee (INR) and trade with Malaysia in INR.
The country has also pursued creating a local currency settlement system with nine other central banks.
As more nations consider alternatives to the US dollar’s dominance, Bitcoin has emerged as a functional monetary tool that can serve as an alternative reserve asset.
Why Nations Are Turning to Bitcoin for Trade Independence
Interest in using cryptocurrency for purposes beyond international trade has also grown. In a notable development, China and Russia have reportedly settled some energy transactions using Bitcoin and other digital assets.
“Sovereign adoption of Bitcoin is accelerating this year as demand grows for neutral payments rails that can circumvent USD sanctions,” Matthew Sigel, Head of Digital Assets Research at VanEck, told BeInCrypto.
Two weeks ago, France’s Minister of Digital Affairs proposed using the surplus production of EDF, the country’s state-owned energy giant, to mine Bitcoin.
Last week, Pakistan announced similar plans to allocate part of its surplus electricity to Bitcoin mining and AI data centers.
Meanwhile, on April 10, New Hampshire’s House passed HB302, a Bitcoin reserve bill, by a 192-179 vote, sending it to the Senate. This development makes New Hampshire the fourth state, after Arizona, Texas, and Oklahoma, to have such a bill pass a legislative chamber.
If HB302 is approved by the Senate and signed into law, the state treasurer could invest up to 10% of the general fund and other authorized funds in precious metals and specific digital assets like Bitcoin.
According to industry experts, this is only the beginning.
VanEck Predicts Bitcoin to Become a Future Reserve Asset
Sigel predicts Bitcoin will become a key medium of exchange by 2025 and, ultimately, one of the world’s reserve currencies.
His forecasts suggest Bitcoin could settle 10% of global international trade and 5% of global domestic trade. This scenario would lead to central banks holding 2.5% of their assets in BTC.
According to him, China’s recent de-dollarization will prompt other nations to follow suit and lessen their reliance on the US dollar.
“China’s de-dollarization efforts are already having second- and third-order effects that create opportunities for alternative assets like Bitcoin. When the world’s second-largest economy actively reduces its exposure to US Treasuries and promotes cross-border trade in yuan or through mechanisms like the mBridge project, it signals to other nations—especially those with strained ties to the West—that the dollar is no longer the only game in town,” Sigel said.
For Zhong Yang Chan, Head of Research at CoinGecko, these efforts could prove catastrophic for the United States’ dominance.
“Broader de-dollarization efforts by China, or other major economies, will threaten the status of the dollar’s global reserve currency status. This could have [a] profound impact on the US and its economy, as this would lead to nations reducing their holdings of US treasuries, which the US relies on to finance its national debt,” he told BeInCrypto.
However, the strength of the US dollar and other dominant currencies has already shown signs of weakening.
A General Wave of Currency Decline
Sigel’s research shows that the four strongest global currencies—the US dollar, Japanese yen, British pound, and European euro—have lost value over time, particularly in cross-border payments.
The decline of these currencies creates a void where Bitcoin can gain traction as a key alternative for international trade settlements.
“This shift isn’t purely about promoting the yuan. It’s also about minimizing vulnerability to US sanctions and the politicization of payment rails like SWIFT. That opens the door for neutral, non-sovereign assets—especially those that are digitally native, decentralized, and liquid,” Sigel added.
This lack of national allegiance also sets Bitcoin apart from traditional currencies.
Bitcoin’s Appeal: A Non-Sovereign Alternative
Unlike fiat money or central bank digital currencies (CBDCs), Bitcoin doesn’t respond to any one nation, which makes it appealing to some countries.
For Terence Kwok, CEO and Founder of Humanity Protocol, recent geopolitical tensions have heightened this belief.
For these same reasons, experts don’t expect Bitcoin to replace fiat currencies fully but rather provide a vital alternative for certain cases.
A Replacement or an Alternative?
While Bitcoin offers several advantages over traditional currencies, Gate.io’s Kevin Lee doesn’t foresee its eventual adoption causing a complete overhaul of the currency reserve system.
Recent data confirms this. The number of Bitcoin transactions has fallen significantly since the last quarter of 2024. Bitcoin registered over 610,684 transactions in November, but that number dropped to 376,369 in April, according to Glassnode data.
The number of Bitcoin active addresses paints a similar picture. In December, the network had nearly 891,623 addresses. Today, that number stands at 609,614.
Bitcoin number of active addresses. Source: Glassnode.
This decline suggests reduced demand for its blockchain in terms of transactions, usage, and adoption, meaning fewer people are actively using it for transfers, business, or Bitcoin-based applications.
Meanwhile, the Bitcoin network must also ensure its infrastructure is efficient enough to meet global demand.
Can Bitcoin Scale for Global Use?
In 2018, Lightning Labs launched the Lightning Network to reduce the cost and time required for cryptocurrency transactions. Currently, the Bitcoin network can only handle around seven transactions per second, while Visa, for example, handles around 65,000.
“If expansion solutions (such as the Lightning Network) fail to become popular, Bitcoin’s ability to process only about 7 transactions per second will be difficult to support global demand. At the same time, as Bitcoin block rewards are gradually halved, the decline in miners’ income may threaten the long-term security of the network,” Guo, Director of HashKey Research explained.
While the confluence of geopolitical shifts and Bitcoin’s inherent characteristics undeniably create a space for its increased adoption as an alternative to the US dollar and even a potential reserve asset, significant hurdles remain.
Achieving mainstream Bitcoin adoption hinges on overcoming scalability, volatility, regulatory hurdles, stablecoin competition, and ensuring network security.
The unfolding panorama suggests Bitcoin will carve out an important role in the global financial system, though a complete overhaul of established norms seems unlikely in the immediate future.
Bitcoin’s decisive break above the psychologically significant $95,000 mark has injected fresh optimism into the market, at least among miners.
This key milestone has triggered a shift in miner sentiment, with on-chain data showing a noticeable uptick in BTC miner reserves over the past few days.
Miners Bet on BTC Upside as Reserve Jumps from Yearly Low
According to CryptoQuant, Bitcoin’s miner reserve, which had been in a sustained downtrend, began to rise on April 29, shortly after BTC closed above the $95,000 threshold.
For context, the reserve had dropped to a year-to-date low of 1.80 million BTC just a day earlier before reversing course and showing signs of accumulation.
Bitcoin’s miner reserve tracks the number of coins held in miners’ wallets. It represents the coin reserves miners have yet to sell. When it falls, miners are moving coins out of their wallets, usually to sell, confirming growing bearish sentiment against BTC.
Conversely, when this metric rises, as it is now, it suggests miners are holding onto more of their mined coins, often reflecting growing confidence in the BTC’s future price appreciation.
Moreover, the bullish shift in miner sentiment is further supported by the positive miner netflow recorded since April 29. This signals that more coins are being put into miner wallets rather than offloading to exchanges.
Such behavior reflects confidence in further upside, as miners, often seen as long-term holders, are choosing to accumulate rather than liquidate.
There Is a Catch
However, the sentiment is not universally bullish. While BTC miners are stepping back from selling, derivatives data tells a different story.
In the futures market, BTC’s funding rate has remained negative since the beginning of May, a sign that a significant portion of traders are betting on a near-term price correction. At press time, the coin’s funding rate is -0.0056%.
The funding rate is a periodic payment exchanged between long and short traders in perpetual futures contracts to keep the contract price aligned with the spot price.
When it is positive, it means traders holding long positions are paying those with short positions, indicating that bullish sentiment dominates the market.
On the other hand, a negative funding rate like this signals more short bets than long ones, suggesting bearish pressure on BTC’s price.
Breakout or Breakdown as Traders and Miners Diverge
While miner behavior may point to renewed confidence, the steady bearish sentiment in derivatives suggests that traders remain wary of a potential pullback.
If coin accumulation strengthens, BTC could extend its gains, break above the resistance at $98,515, and attempt to regain the $102,080 price mark.
Ripple’s XRP has gained 3% in the last 24 hours, riding the wave of renewed optimism in the broader cryptocurrency market.
While the increase may appear modest, underlying technical indicators suggest the XRP token rally has more room to run. This analysis holds the details.
XRP Clears Key Resistance—Technical Indicators Point to More Upside
XRP has successfully broken above a descending trendline, overcoming a key resistance level that had capped its upside since the end of April. This move signals a trend reversal and puts XRP in a favorable position for further gains.
Readings from XRP’s Relative Strength Index (RSI) support this bullish outlook. At press time, the momentum indicator is at 54.11, noting a steady uptick.
The RSI indicator gauges whether an asset is overbought or oversold. It ranges from 0 to 100, with readings above 70 typically signaling overbought conditions and a potential price decline. Conversely, values below 30 suggest the asset is oversold and may be due for a rebound.
At 54.11 and climbing, XRP’s RSI indicates that buying pressure is strengthening. It also hints at the likelihood of more gains before the token becomes overbought.
Likewise, XRP’s Balance of Power (BoP) returns a positive value at press time, highlighting the bullish bias toward the altcoin. It currently stands at 0.86.
The BoP indicator measures the strength of buying versus selling pressure in an asset’s market. When it climbs this way, buyers dominate the spot markets. This indicates a potential bullish trend for the XRP token and suggests its upward momentum could continue.
XRP Bulls Eye $2.50 After Breakout
XRP rests solidly above the descending trend line at $2.21. If demand strengthens and the breakout sees more bullish momentum, it could drive the token’s price past the resistance at $2.29.
A successful breach of this price level could drive XRP to $2.50.
