Bitcoin (BTC) is on track for its best third quarter ever, data shows as Q3 2020 has just one day left to go.

According to price records from on-chain analytics resource Skew, this year should produce Bitcoin’s strongest Q3 in its history.

BTC price challenges Q2 2019 close

BTC/USD traded at around $10,680 at press time on Sep. 30. That number comfortably beats any other Q3 close on record, the next highest being last year’s $8,310.

What’s more, Bitcoin may seal the second-best quarterly close of its lifetime — but that depends on whether it can stay above Q2 2019’s $10,590.

“One more day to go and still looking like second-best quarterly close for bitcoin but it's a close call with Q2 2020,” Skew commented.

Bitcoin quarterly closing prices summary

Bitcoin quarterly closing prices summary. Source: Skew/ Twitter

Bitcoin has stabilized in a $1,000 trading corridor since losing momentum after hitting $12,500 in August. The opinion is mixed for the short term, and concerns remain that BTC/USD may still drop to fill the last remaining CME futures “gap” at $9,600.

“There’s a rangebound structure with the upper resistance zone at $10,800,” Cointelegraph Markets analyst Michaël van de Poppe summarized in an update on Tuesday.

If BTC/USD fails to crack that resistance, he said, it was “very likely” that support levels lower down would be tested, notably $10,600, with potential for $10,400 and $10,200 to come into play. 

Long term bulls in charge

Zooming out, however, the picture more conspicuously favors bulls. As Cointelegraph reported, long-term behavioral patterns remain true to form for Bitcoin, with this week proving no different.

Difficulty ribbon compression, a metric designed to quantify suitable BTC/USD entry points, has left its lower green “buy” zone for the first time since March.

Network fundamentals also speak to overall strength, with difficulty itself at all-time highs and set for another upwards readjustment of around 3% in three days’ time.

Hash rate, a measure of the estimated computing power being directed to mining, is also trending back towards its highest-ever levels.

Among traders, however, discussion remains of potential near-term lows, including a dip below the CME gap toward $9,000.