This occurrence on Bitcoin’s futures chart shows fresh 2020 highs might be in sight

Following the period of sideways trading that Bitcoin (BTC) was subjected to earlier this week, it now appears that the benchmark cryptocurrency is once again entering another consolidation phase as it stabilizes within the lower-$9,000 region.

This rangebound trading may not last long, however, as BTC currently has one open CME futures gap on its chart that sits above the cryptocurrency’s year-to-date highs.

Although this doesn’t mean that Bitcoin won’t see any further near-term losses, these gaps are historically filled by assets spanning across multiple markets, which signals that a movement to fresh 2020 highs could be imminent in the months ahead.

Bitcoin enters yet another consolidation phase as altcoins inch higher

At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading down nominally at its current price of $9,080, which marks a slight decline from daily highs of $9,150 and climb from lows of $9,040.

BTC has been caught within this incredibly tight trading range in the time following its recent rally from the upper-$8,000 region, with this movement marking a break above the heavy resistance that it was previously facing around $8,900.

While looking at Bitcoin’s multi-week price action, it appears that it is caught within a relatively wide trading range between $8,400 and $10,500, with it currently hovering around the equilibrium of this range.

Despite the uncertainty regarding where BTC will go next, investors do appear to be growing confident that altcoins can further extend their momentum, as Ethereum and XRP have both been able to inch higher today, while many smaller altcoins post minor losses.

This futures gap spells trouble for BTC bears

One factor that could suggest Bitcoin’s firm 2020 uptrend is far from being over is the fact that the cryptocurrency has an open gap on its CME futures chart at $11,700.

CryptoBirb, a well-respected cryptocurrency trader on Twitter, spoke about this open gap in a recent tweet, explaining that BTC’s volatility throughout the past several months has resulted in all of the other gaps being filled.

“Only BTC futures gap left is 11.7k.”

Historically, CME futures gaps can take quite some time to be closed and Bitcoin could see further downside before it visits this region.

Despite this, the strong support referenced on the above chart does provide some fuel for bulls, signaling that another bout of significant upwards momentum could lead the cryptocurrency straight up to fresh year-to-date highs as bulls attempt to close this futures gap.