XRP Vampirized by Leverage-Driven Pump; Bitcoin Extends 18% Gains vs. Silver; Binance Lists 5 Major Pairs, Litecoin and Zcash Too: Morning Crypto Report

TL;DR 

• XRP was vampirized by a leverage-driven pump: a fast push to $1.42, then a reversal to $1.36 as open interest unwound and positions closed.
• Bitcoin extends 18% gains versus silver to 823 troy ounces per BTC, but remains down 74.3% against silver since August 2025.
• Binance lists five major spot pairs, including Litecoin and Zcash, all versus the U stablecoin, with zero-fee promotion boosting activity.
• Macro focus remains on non-farm employment, business activity data and the Fed Beige Book, with BTC $70,000 as the pivot and XRP $1.45 as the bull trigger.

Leverage-driven pump for XRP turns out to be “vampire attack”

Over the past 24 hours, the price of XRP experienced what can be described as a leverage-driven pump. As a result, it can be stated that XRP did not reap the benefits of this pump but was, rather, vampirized.

A large number of participants was lured into longs against what was likely an equally large number of short-sellers on the other side. As a result, short positions were squeezed first, and then those who believed in a full-fledged rally in the cryptocurrency were left holding the bag.

Following this, the price of XRP rose more than 5% at one point, reaching $1.42 per token. However, shortly after that, it has fallen by 4.5%. Despite the backdrop appearing favorable at the moment, a day later, it can be concluded that yesterday’s growth was a leverage-driven pump.

This is indicated, in particular, by CryptoQuant analyst Maartunn, who wrote that such pumps are accompanied by a surge in open interest. The pattern, however, is that as open interest declines and positions are closed, a strong reversal follows in the opposite direction, and that is exactly what we saw with XRP.

At the moment, the token’s price stands at $1.36. From the day’s open, it remains in positive territory by just over half a percent, which is not significant for such a token and for the crypto market as a whole. 

Bitcoin ignites counter-rally vs. silver, still down 75% from August 2025

The next story in the Morning Crypto Report concerns the Bitcoin-to-silver ratio, namely, what could be described as alpha behavior by the cryptocurrency relative to the metal, as, for the second consecutive day, there has been a rebound in Bitcoin’s price — measured in troy ounces of silver. 

At the moment, over two days, Bitcoin’s recovery against silver amounts to 18%, with the cryptocurrency now valued at 823 troy ounces per BTC. Despite this, it remains only the start of a recovery, even with double-digit figures, as since August 2025 and up to today, the cryptocurrency is still down 74.3% relative to silver. Back then, last summer, it took nearly 3,300 troy ounces of silver to buy one Bitcoin. 

It can be assumed that the correction may continue, as Bitcoin is extremely oversold against silver. Its 14-day RSI stands at 26.86, which is a zone of extreme oversold conditions. For comparison, since 2017 and earlier, Bitcoin has never been this cheap relative to silver. The last time it was comparably cheap relative to metal was in 2022. After that, Bitcoin’s price rose almost 400%, reaching the very levels from which it later began the summer correction.

Does this mean that Bitcoin is now more attractive than silver? Unlikely. Fundamental indicators are still not in favor of the leading cryptocurrency. Technically, yes. Fundamentally, no. If one assumes that everything is already priced in, then the chart has legs. Nevertheless, it is premature to assert that Bitcoin will now begin reclaiming its positions against the metal.

Binance enriches U stablecoin, with LTC, Zcash and others listed

The final story of this report is that Binance has introduced five new trading pairs on the spot market: AVAX, Chainlink, Litecoin, PAXG — which is tokenized gold from Paxos — and Zcash. On the one hand, we are getting new pairs for some of the largest cryptocurrencies on the market. On the other hand, the more important part of the story is that they are being listed against stablecoin U of the United Stables.

For those unfamiliar, this is a new stablecoin launched on both the BNB network and Ethereum, and it has been actively promoted by Binance over the past two months since its listing in January. The strategy is simple: the exchange lists major alternative cryptocurrencies against U and thereby boosts trading volumes for stablecoin itself. Additionally, as a “sweetener,” there is a zero fee promotion for U spot and margin trading pairs.

At present, the market capitalization of this stablecoin stands at $980 million, meaning it is close to surpassing the $1 billion mark. Its trading volume, according to CoinMarketCap data, amounts to $320 million, signaling a relatively high volume-to-market-cap ratio and suggesting that Binance’s strategy is working rather than not. 

Crypto market outlook: XRP, BTC price update

The crypto market remains quite volatile as of Tuesday, March 3, which is not typical for a digital asset market in correction mode. Nevertheless, this is the kind of period we are in, where amid macro and geopolitical developments, everything gets mixed together, including gold, silver, oil and, of course, cryptocurrencies.

The main events of the week remain the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which will set expectations for further U.S. monetary policy decisions. This is extremely important for cryptocurrencies, which are now more closely tied than ever to U.S. stock indices, U.S. macro data and the U.S. dollar itself.

Price updates:

Bitcoin (BTC): The focus remains on the $70,000 level, which Bitcoin briefly touched yesterday before seeing a correction, while the $62,000 to $65,000 zone remains key support.

XRP: The bull case is a break above $1.45 and a move beyond $1.50 toward $1.85 per token. The bear case is a loss of support in the $1.27 to $1.30 range and a further drop to $1.20. Regulatory clarity regarding the Clarity Act remains important for XRP, but for now, U.S. lawmakers continue to maintain uncertainty.