Bitcoin drops to $76,000 on Saturday, April 19, 2026, on news of Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels.
Need-to-Know Facts
- Bitcoin reached levels above $78,000 on April 17, 2026, after Iran Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced that the Strait of Hormuz would be “completely open” during the remainder of the ceasefire period between the U.S. and Iran.
- According to CoinDesk, the surge triggered about $762 million in crypto liquidations, mostly from short positions, with bitcoin comprising about $382 million and ether $167 million.
Rise and Fall
Bitcoin climbed to $78,000 late last Friday, which led to $762 million in liquidations across 168,336 traders with $593 million on the short side, according to CoinGlass.
By Saturday evening in Asia, bitcoin returned to above $76,000, as Iran announced that the Strait of Hormuz was being closed again to maritime traffic, less than 24 hours after Minister Araghchi declared that it would be open.
Two owners of tankers told Bloomberg that they received radio transmission from Iran closing the waterway.
Nour, a state news agency, said the Strait of Hormuz had returned to “strict management and control by the armed forces” in response to a United States blockade of Iranian shipping.
Shorts Rout
Friday’s breakout rally ended in a rout of $590 million shorts. Bets on bitcoin accounted for $381 million in liquidations, the largest share, followed by ether shorts at $167. Shorts far outweighed longs by a ratio of nearly four to one.
Long Time Coming
The situation was foreshadowed for weeks. Funding rates on bitcoin perpetuals were set negative. This means that shorts were paying longs a premium to stay at their positions.
The announcement that the Strait of Hormuz would be closed again became the catalyst that flipped it. Crude oil prices dropped to nearly $85.90 per barrel when the news broke, and bitcoin surpassed the $76,000-$78,000 zone that became a ceiling for every rally attempt since the crash on February 5.
Nothing Unlimited
President Donald Trump on Friday night told reporters that Iran had agreed that the moratorium on its nuclear program would be “unlimited”. Tehran, however, did not confirm the claim, which collapsed come Saturday.
Whether the $76,000 threshold holds into Monday’s close is now the question. A definitive weekly close above that mark would preserve the structural break even if talks between the United States and Iran become as unpredictable.
