Bitcoin Price Plunges to $76,000 Following Iran's Re-Closure of the Strait of Hormuz

One of the most substantial short squeezes of 2026 occurred within a single session, as bitcoin surged to $78,000 late on Friday, triggering $762 million in liquidations across 168,336 traders, with $593 million of that amount being on the short side, according to CoinGlass. By Saturday evening in Asia, bitcoin had retreated to $76,091, representing a mere 0.8% increase on the day, after Iran announced the re-closure of the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic, less than 24 hours after its foreign minister declared it fully open. Two tanker owners informed Bloomberg that their vessels received Iranian radio transmissions indicating the waterway's closure, with one supertanker reporting gunfire and subsequently aborting its transit. The state news agency Nour stated that the Strait of Hormuz had returned to 'strict management and control by the armed forces' in response to a U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping, prompting several oil tankers that had proceeded toward the strait on the initial reopening news to turn back. The breakout rally on Friday culminated in a $590 million rout of shorts, with bets on bitcoin accounting for $381 million in liquidations, the largest share, followed by ether shorts at $167 million. Shorts outweighed longs by nearly four to one, representing the cleanest short-heavy breakdown in a liquidation event since February. The setup had been building for weeks, with funding rates on bitcoin perpetuals pinned negative, indicating that shorts were paying longs a premium to hold their positions. The initial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Friday served as the catalyst that triggered the surge, as crude oil dropped nearly 10% to $85.90 per barrel, and bitcoin broke above the $76,000-$78,000 zone that has capped every rally attempt since the February 5 crash. However, the market pattern is now familiar, with ceasefire headlines driving a rally, only to be followed by a reversal headline before the breakout can consolidate, resulting in a forced unwind that sets up another opportunity to work against. Ether held up better than bitcoin on the retreat, declining by just 0.2% over 24 hours, while solana dropped 1.3% and dogecoin fell 2.1%. On a weekly basis, ether is still up 5.2%, XRP leads at 6.4%, BNB added 4.6%, and bitcoin sits at 4.5%. The question now is whether the $76,000 zone will hold into Monday's open, as a clean weekly close above $76,000 would preserve the structural break, even if the peace trade continues to whipsaw. A loss of this level would send bitcoin back into the same range it has been trapped in since March, only this time with the short base that just got wiped looking to rebuild.