Bitcoin Retreats to $76,000 as Iran Reverses Hormuz Decision

The year 2026 witnessed one of its largest short squeezes, which unfolded and dissipated within a single session. Bitcoin had reached $78,000 by late Friday, triggering liquidations totaling $762 million across 168,336 traders, with $593 million of these being short positions, according to data from CoinGlass. However, by Saturday evening in Asia, bitcoin pulled back to $76,091, marking a mere 0.8% gain on the day. This downturn was prompted by Iran's announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would once again be closed to maritime traffic, less than 24 hours after its foreign minister declared it fully open. Two tanker owners reported receiving Iranian radio transmissions that led to the closure of the waterway, with one supertanker even experiencing gunfire and aborting its transit. In response to a U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping, the state news agency Nour stated that Hormuz had returned to strict management and control by the armed forces. Several oil tankers that had initially moved towards the strait upon hearing the reopening news subsequently turned back. The breakout rally on Friday culminated in a $590 million rout for short positions, with bitcoin accounting for $381 million in liquidations, followed by ether shorts at $167 million. Shorts outnumbered longs by nearly four to one, representing the cleanest short-heavy breakdown in a liquidation event since February. The setup for this had been building over weeks, with funding rates on bitcoin perpetuals pinned negative, indicating that shorts were paying longs a premium to hold their positions. The catalyst for the flip was Friday's Hormuz reopening, which led to a nearly 10% drop in crude oil prices to $85.90 per barrel and pushed bitcoin above the $76,000-$78,000 zone that had capped every rally attempt since the February 5 crash. However, President Donald Trump's statement on Friday night that Iran had agreed to an unlimited suspension of its nuclear program was not confirmed by Tehran, and none of these developments survived into Saturday intact. The market pattern that has emerged is one where ceasefire headlines drive a rally, but a reversal headline arrives before the breakout can consolidate, leading to a forced unwind that sets up another challenge. While bitcoin retreated, ether held up better, dropping only 0.2% over 24 hours, compared to solana's 1.3% decline and dogecoin's 2.1% fall. On a weekly basis, ether remains up 5.2%, with XRP leading at 6.4%, BNB adding 4.6%, and bitcoin sitting at 4.5%. The key question now is whether the $76,000 zone will hold into Monday's open. A clean weekly close above $76,000 would preserve the structural break, even if the peace trade continues to be volatile. Conversely, a loss of this level would put bitcoin back in the same range it has been trapped in since March, but this time with the short base that was just wiped out looking to rebuild.