Bitcoin Enters A Phase Of Consolidation Amid String Of Bullish News — Ethereum, Dogecoin Head Lower

Major coins were down on Sunday night as the global cryptocurrency market capitalization shrank 2.55% to $2.26 trillion.

What Happened: Bitcoin BTC/USD traded 0.21% lower at $54,953.40 over 24 hours leading up to press time. For the week, the apex cryptocurrency has risen 14.59%.

See Also: How To Buy Bitcoin (BTC)

The second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap, Ethereum ETH/USD declined 3.97% over 24 hours to $3,434.48. Over a seven-day trailing period, it has increased 1.48%.

Dogecoin DOGE/USD was down 5.7% to $0.23 over 24 hours. Over the last seven days, the Shiba Inu-themed coin has risen 6.02%.

Harmony (ONE) was the top 24-hour gainer, as per CoinMarketCap data. The decentralized application or DApp focussed coin shot up 23.53% to $0.26. Over the week, ONE has soared 47.64%.

ONE has risen 24% and 28.64% against its larger peers BTC and ETH, respectively.

Why It Matters: Over the weekend, the two largest coins, BTC and ETH settled into bullish flag patterns, which as per Benzinga’s Melanie Schaffer could be a signal that the coins be in for a period of consolidation.

See Also: Crypto Analyst Michaël van de Poppe Says Bitcoin Will Hit This Six-Figure Price After Blowing Past $63,000

On Sunday, cryptocurrency analyst Michaël van de Poppe noted the consolidation on Twitter.

Meanwhile, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co JPM said it saw BTC becoming a gold substitute. 

In a note, the bank said that "institutional investors appear to be returning to Bitcoin, perhaps seeing it as a better inflation hedge than gold.”

BTC's wider adoption may get a boost as well. a report titled the “State of Lightning” by Arcane research pointed out that BTC Lighting Network will have nearly 700 million users in 2030.

As per Arcane Research, 90% of the citizens of El Salvador — where BTC is legal tender — will use the layer 2 payment protocol by 2026.

ETH co-founder Vitalik Buterin spoke out against El Salvador’s President Nayib Bukele terming the attempt to push people to use BTC as “reckless.” 

The ETH founder said the move risks a “large number of innocent people getting hacked or scammed."

Read Next: Bitcoin Proponent And El Salvador President Nayib Bukele Is On Time's 100 Most Influential People List Alongside Ethereum's Vitalik Buterin — But Not For The Right Reasons