Bitcoin continues to hover between $120,000 and $126,000 and consolidates after a strong rally

Bitcoin continued to fluctuate between $120,000 and $126,000, trading at $121,410 on Friday after a strong rally. Meanwhile, Ethereum fell more than 2% in the past 24 hours to trade at $4,357.

As of 11:01 AM IST, Ethereum was down 2.25% to $4,353. Other major tokens including BNB, XRP, Solana, Dogecoin, Tron, Cardano and Hyperliquid fell as much as 4%. According to CoinMarketCap, the crypto market cap fell 1.05% overall to $4.13 trillion.

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According to Sathvik Vishwanath, co-founder and CEO of Unocoin, Bitcoin is consolidating after a strong rally and momentum is slowing (RSI approaching overbought), indicating potential for near-term correction. Upcoming US CPI figures and macro news could break the impasse.

The CEO of Unocoin believes that a higher-than-expected CPI could fuel risk-off sentiment, strengthen the dollar and put pressure on BTC below $120,000. Conversely, soft CPI and muted macro signals could fuel a breakout above $126,000 to $130,000+. “Watch the 50-day MA (~$118,000) as key support. The price action is rolling up, indicating an impending move. Volatility is likely to push the post-data higher, which will determine Bitcoin’s short-term trend. Patience is advised until the macro catalysts materialize,” he added while sharing the technical aspect.

Over the past week, Bitcoin has risen 1.09%, while Ethereum has fallen 2.90% over the same period.

Another expert believes that the cryptocurrency’s decline today is not a surprise. The rising prices over the past week have sowed caution as traders reap profits, momentum slows and combined with macro headwinds and stretched positioning, what we are seeing is more correction than collapse.

While Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget, shares some notable catalysts, he sees this dip as a healthy consolidation and not the start of a broader turnaround, as long as key supports hold.

“The structural bullish fundamentals remain intact: strong institutional flows, shrinking currency balances and resilient demand across the chain. However, this phase still requires monitoring, volatility may persist and failed support levels may further test sentiment,” Lee added.

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Here’s what another analyst says

Edul Patel, CEO of Mudrex

Bitcoin shows signs of recovery after testing $119,800 ahead of $4.6 billion options expiration. Despite low volatility, institutional confidence remains strong, with Bitcoin ETFs recording inflows of more than $2.5 billion this week. At the same time, whales have accumulated more than 60,000 BTC in the last ten days, demonstrating the conviction towards this asset.

While the market remains bullish, macro factors such as the strengthening dollar index and muted economic data have increased near-term uncertainty. Bitcoin must remain above its current levels to maintain bullish momentum. A move below $119,500 could trigger a short-term correction towards $115,000 before a relief rally.