Counter trend
Counter-trend energy is the fuel for a move against a long trend: after a long fall and a pause, short sellers forced to buy back push price up.
The longer an instrument fell and then moved sideways, the more short sellers it gathered and the stronger the squeeze can be. XRP fell 52% from its July 2025 high, spent 17 days sideways in late December, then rose 22% in 5 days.
Learn more: the four pillars of a trade and the short squeeze.