Analysts say Bitcoin’s multi-year cup-and-handle pattern could support a minimum price target above $220,000.
Bitcoin (BTC) has formed a multi-year cup-and-handle (C&H) pattern on its weekly chart, with technical analysts placing a minimum price target of $220,000, contingent on BTC holding a key support zone near $74,000.
A C&H is a bullish continuation pattern. The cup forms as prices recover from a low in a gradual, rounded shape. The handle is a shorter period of consolidation that follows before a breakout occurs. The upside target is calculated by adding the depth of the cup to the breakout level.
Technical analyst Crypto Tice wrote on X on May 26 that BTC has completed the pattern. He said C&H breakouts do not produce minor price movements and that prices tend to advance by hundreds of percent from the breakout point. He placed $220,000 as the minimum target and stated that the retest phase has concluded.
Volume Collapse Signals Seller Exhaustion
TradingView data puts the pattern's measured target at $295,000, approximately 280% above BTC's price at the time of the post. A separate logarithmic price model called the Decay Channel has projected a BTC rally to $255,000 by year-end, with a 2027 projection of $308,000.
BTC has gained roughly 30% since its Feb. 6 low below $60,000. The cup's neckline sits between $65,000 and $74,000. Trader VeLLa Crypto said the pair "must hold" the $74,000 area to maintain its bullish case. A close below that level would invalidate the medium-term outlook, according to prior analysis.
Spot trading volume on major exchanges has dropped to levels associated with past bear markets, according to CryptoQuant data. Volume on Binance fell to $36.4 billion, down 81% from $198.6 billion recorded in October 2025. Gate.io declined 79.6% over the same period, while Bybit fell 66%.
CryptoQuant analyst Darkfost said the broader macro environment has been unfavorable for risk assets. He added that the volume contraction can be read constructively, as it indicates that selling pressure behind the current pullback is gradually losing momentum. He noted that in 2023, spot volumes collapsed in a similar fashion before the bear market ended.
That volume compression in 2023 was followed by a recovery of the bullish trend and a return of volatility. Whether the current setup produces the same result depends on BTC's ability to defend the $74,000 support zone. #Bitcoin #BTC #TechnicalAnalysis #CryptoMarket
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