Bitcoin (BTC) rose above $7,100 on Dec. 16 to just hit a fresh “gap” in futures markets, continuing a trend that has captured analysts.

Cryptocurrency market daily overview. Source: Coin360

Bitcoin fails to convince traders

Data from Coin360 showed BTC/USD spike to daily highs of $7,145 on Monday, having spent much of the previous 12 hours below the $7,100 mark.

Bitcoin 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360

The uptick allowed Bitcoin to reach the lower echelons of a gap left by CME’s Bitcoin futures when they closed on Friday.

As Cointelegraph recently noted, Bitcoin has set a precedent for returning to the empty zone between where one futures trading session ends and another begins.

In the case of this weekend, the closing and opening levels were $7,120 and $7,265 respectively.

Nonetheless, despite the slight relief in an otherwise lackluster market, analysts warned not to expect bullish price action in the short term.

“I remain long bias myself looking to get back into cash once this CME gap is filled. The 4 hour looks ok for now, is resting above obvious demand in the 6k zone,” regular Cointelegraph contributor filbfilb summarized to subscribers of his Telegram channel earlier Monday.

In the latest analysis, filbfilb added that more broadly, BTC/USD was in a six-month downtrend but that bearish sentiment was beginning to lose its grip.

Continuing into 2020, current levels may be suitable for accumulation prior to Bitcoin’s block reward halving in May, he said.

Altcoins slowly shed value

Conversely, altcoin markets generally showed a sea of red on Monday, with the majority of the top twenty cryptocurrencies by market cap seeing modest losses.

Ether (ETH), the largest altcoin, remained stable, down just 0.1% at press time to trade at $143.

Ether 7-day price chart. Source: Coin360

Others fared worse, led by Cosmos (ATOM), which was down 5.2% at $4.32. XRP also fell by more than the average — by 1.5% to just over $0.21.

The overall cryptocurrency market cap was $194.7 billion at press time, with Bitcoin’s share remaining at 66.6%.