XRP has broken above the Bollinger Bands midline from below, returning to a medium-term bullish zone.

On July 5 (local time), blockchain outlet U.Today reported that XRP has settled in the upper half of its price band, suggesting the downtrend that continued through the spring has, for now, come to an end.

This rebound showed a different backdrop from a simple technical bounce. On the XRP Ledger, settlement volume in native tokens rose 111 percent over the past 30 days as x402 facilitator activity increased. The rise, confirmed based on t54ai data, appeared at the same time as XRP's price move.

Network expansion followed. Participants in the x402 commercial network increased to 120, helped by new merchant integrations. This is seen as a signal that real economic activity within the ecosystem is gradually starting to operate. In particular, the automated commerce segment has already processed 979,134 transactions in agent-to-agent commerce. As direct machine-to-machine payments grow, the blockchain's utilisation also increases.

The outlet pointed out that the density of such automated micro-settlements determines the pace of volatility band expansion and is pushing the price toward the upper boundary of the $1.20 to $1.22 range. The market is also focused on whether this resistance zone is broken.

If the resistance is broken, the next target price was put at $1.30. It also cited that artificial intelligence-based trading entities are prioritising XRP over Ripple's dollar stablecoin RLUSD. RLUSD's 30-day settlement volume fell 31 percent over the same period. That suggests automated trading entities prefer native tokens to stablecoins for direct machine-to-machine payments.

Still, holding the uptrend requires defending a key support level. The Bollinger Bands midline of $1.1039 was presented as the buyers' "main defensive line". Buyers need to hold above this price even if a short-term pullback occurs. If the price falls below this line again, the breakout would be invalidated and XRP could return to a decline.

Ultimately, XRP's rebound is drawing market attention as improving technical indicators coincided with rising payment activity within XRPL. Going forward, key variables are whether it breaks the $1.20 to $1.22 resistance zone and whether AI agent-led automated payment flows continue to support XRP demand.