Key Takeaways:
A single block trade on the Deribit crypto options exchange has established a massive position betting that XRP’s price will remain pinned at $1.40 through the end of June. The trader collected $224,500 in premium by executing a "short strangle," selling 1.5 million call and put contracts with a strike price of $1.40 that expire on June 26.
"Trades of this scale, single-block, OTC-negotiated, executed to avoid moving the tape, are institutional trading signatures," Stuart Alderoty, Ripple's chief legal officer, said in a recent statement regarding market structure. The structure implies a whale or a systematic volatility desk with enough conviction in XRP’s range to absorb unlimited downside risk.
The trade creates a powerful gravitational pull toward the $1.40 price level. As market makers absorb the other side of this trade, they must hedge their exposure. If XRP rises above $1.40, market makers who are long calls will sell spot XRP to remain delta-neutral. If XRP falls below $1.40, they will buy spot XRP, effectively bracketing the price. With 1.5 million contracts on both sides, this delta-hedging pressure is significant enough to suppress volatility for weeks.
This bet on stability, however, comes as potential catalysts for volatility loom. The Senate Banking Committee recently advanced the Clarity Act, a landmark bill for U.S. crypto regulation, which now heads to a full Senate vote. Alderoty called the committee's decision a “monumental outcome.” Furthermore, Ripple's conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish the Ripple National Trust Bank could also introduce price-moving news, potentially testing the whale's conviction and breaking the $1.40 pin.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
