• The XRP price action was bearish, but on-chain metrics indicated that accumulation was underway.
• XRP might not succeed in overcoming the $3.2 resistance this week, but was making progress toward this goal.

Ripple [XRP] is up by 518% since November. These vast gains for a token that was already considered a large-cap coin have attracted increased attention and adoption.

The rising number of addresses on the XRP Ledger pointed toward steady growth and increased confidence in the network.

XRP rebounds 17% from local lows

XRP and the rest of the crypto market witnessed heightened volatility over the past week. XRP has been in a higher timeframe uptrend since November. However, in the lower timeframes, it has a bearish outlook.

The 6-hour price action showcased that fact. The token has a bearish market structure after falling below the previous low at $2.95.

Moreover, the OBV has made lower highs and lower lows in the second half of January. Therefore, the retracement from $3.4 was not accompanied by accumulation, but rather by distribution.

Despite the 17% price bounce from $2.655 in the past 24 hours, the bearish case was more persuasive in the near term. The RSI was at 52.5, just barely beyond neutral 50.

The bulls have not yet regained control of the market on the lower timeframes, and traders must position themselves accordingly.