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

The cryptocurrency market experienced one of the largest short squeezes of 2026, with Bitcoin surging to $78,000 on Friday before pulling back to $76,091 by Saturday evening. This price movement triggered $762 million in liquidations across 168,336 traders, with $593 million of that amount being on the short side, according to CoinGlass. The reversal in Bitcoin's price was prompted by Iran's announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed to maritime traffic again, less than 24 hours after its foreign minister declared it fully open. This development led to a $590 million shorts rout, with bets on Bitcoin accounting for $381 million in liquidations. The funding rates on Bitcoin perpetuals had been negative for weeks, indicating that shorts were paying longs a premium to hold their positions. The initial reopening of the Strait of Hormuz on Friday had sparked a breakout rally, but the subsequent reversal has raised questions about whether the $76,000 zone can hold into Monday's open. A clean weekly close above $76,000 would preserve the structural break, while a loss of this level would put Bitcoin back in the same range it has been trapped in since March.