Bitcoin Pauses Near $120K as Analysts Insist Market Top Still Far Off
XRP, SUI, and UNI stood out on Monday with solid gains while the broader crypto market eased off after its recent explosive run.
Bitcoin surged close to $123,000 early in the day but cooled during U.S. trading hours, dipping below $120,000 and erasing much of its overnight momentum. Even so, BTC managed a modest 0.6% gain over the past 24 hours.
Ethereum’s ether slipped under the $3,000 mark, while dogecoin (DOGE), Cardano (ADA), and Stellar (XLM) each saw declines of 2%-3%.
Among top performers, XRP gained 2.5%, SUI leapt 10%, and Uniswap’s UNI advanced 6%.
Crypto-related equities also showed mixed results. MicroStrategy (MSTR) and Galaxy Digital (GLXY) remained up between 3%-4%, and Coinbase (COIN) climbed 1.5%.
Following bitcoin’s more than 10% surge in less than a week—and even steeper gains in some altcoins—analysts suggest a period of consolidation could be next as traders take profits. Still, they believe the current rally is far from reaching its peak.
Jeff Dorman, CIO at digital asset investment firm Arca, noted that previous market tops—like those linked to the March 2024 spot bitcoin ETF frenzy or the late-2024 rally around Trump’s election—were marked by altcoin derivative open interest surpassing that of bitcoin.
“That’s simply not happening yet,” Dorman said in a Monday investor note.
He pointed out that while trading volumes across centralized and decentralized platforms rose 23% week over week, they remain well below the peaks seen in earlier widespread rallies.
Eric Demuth, CEO of European crypto exchange Bitpanda, said bitcoin’s ongoing strength is being fueled by rising sovereign debt levels and investor demand for protection against inflation.
Demuth said a move to €200,000 ($233,000) for bitcoin is “absolutely possible,” but he emphasized that the asset’s integration into global finance matters more than specific price targets.
“The bigger question is what happens once bitcoin becomes permanently woven into institutional portfolios, sovereign reserves, and banking infrastructure,” he said. “That’s exactly what’s unfolding now.”
Looking ahead, Demuth predicts bitcoin’s market capitalization will continue closing in on gold’s, which currently stands above $22 trillion—around nine times larger than bitcoin’s current valuation.
