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

One of the most substantial short squeezes in 2026 took place within a single session, with Bitcoin reaching $78,000 on Friday and triggering $762 million in liquidations across 168,336 traders. The majority of these liquidations, $593 million, were on the short side, according to CoinGlass. However, by Saturday evening, Bitcoin had fallen back to $76,091, representing a mere 0.8% increase on the day. This decline occurred after Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed to maritime traffic once again, less than 24 hours after its foreign minister declared it fully open. Two tanker owners reported receiving Iranian radio transmissions indicating the waterway's closure, with one supertanker even experiencing gunfire and being forced to abort its transit. In response to a U.S. blockade of Iranian shipping, the Strait of Hormuz was placed under 'strict management and control by the armed forces,' according to the state news agency Nour. Several oil tankers that had been heading towards the strait on Friday, following the initial reopening news, turned back. The breakout rally on Friday ultimately resulted in a $590 million rout of shorts, with Bitcoin accounting for $381 million in liquidations, followed by Ether at $167 million. Shorts outnumbered longs by nearly four to one, representing the most significant short-heavy breakdown in a liquidation event since February. The setup for this had been building for weeks, with funding rates on Bitcoin perpetuals remaining negative, indicating that shorts were paying longs a premium to hold their positions. The catalyst for the flip was the initial reopening of the Hormuz Strait on Friday, which led to a 10% drop in crude oil prices to $85.90 per barrel and Bitcoin breaking above the $76,000-$78,000 zone that had capped every rally attempt since the February 5 crash. However, none of these developments survived into Saturday intact. President Donald Trump's statement on Friday night that Iran had agreed to an 'unlimited' suspension of its nuclear program was never confirmed by Tehran. 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 challenge. While Bitcoin fell, 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 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. A clean weekly close above $76,000 would preserve the structural break, even if the peace trade continues to be volatile. A loss of this level, however, would put Bitcoin back in the same range it has been trapped in since March, only this time with the short base that just got wiped out looking to rebuild.