Altcoins bounced back sharply on Tuesday after a steep sell-off over the prior 48 hours, with traders seizing lower prices as an opportunity to re-enter the market.
XRP led the recovery, gaining 6% over the past 24 hours. Solana (SOL) and dogecoin (DOGE) each climbed about 4.5%, while ethereum (ETH) added 5% over the same period. Open interest across these tokens also ticked higher, signaling renewed speculative activity. XRP once again stood out, with its open interest rising 4.2% in the past day.
The uptick comes as CME Group announced earlier Tuesday that its crypto futures suite surpassed $30 billion in notional open interest for the first time. SOL and XRP futures each crossed the $1 billion mark, with XRP becoming the fastest contract to reach that level—doing so in just over three months. Analysts see this milestone as evidence of market maturity and growing institutional participation in crypto derivatives, not to mention the sort of interest a spot XRP ETF might generate.
“Think people might be underestimating demand for spot XRP ETFs,” wrote ETF expert Nate Geraci.
The broader market also strengthened, with the CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) up 3.6% on Tuesday. Bitcoin (BTC) lagged behind, gaining only about 1%, but did cross back over the $111,000 mark after dropping below $109,000 at one point hours earlier.
Both bitcoin and ether hit record highs earlier this month, lifted by expectations of monetary easing and increased institutional demand. Yet sentiment may be running too hot, according to blockchain analytics firm Santiment. In a report published Sunday, the firm warned that optimism around a potential Federal Reserve rate cut in September has reached levels that often precede corrections.
“While optimism about a rate cut is fueling the market, social data suggests caution is warranted,” Santiment said, pointing to a spike in online chatter around the Fed decision. The firm cautioned that if expectations of easing fail to materialize, the market could see a “swift correction.”
Traders are now watching Friday’s release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index as a key signal for the Fed’s next move.