Key Takeaways
Bitcoin climbed back above $74,000 on Friday as President Donald Trump confirmed the US Navy will lift the Strait of Hormuz blockade, a geopolitical de-escalation that triggered short liquidations and reversed a week of institutional selling.
Bitcoin traded at $74,161 as of 14:30 UTC, up 1.1 percent over 24 hours, after Trump said the US is lifting its naval blockade of the strategic waterway. The move follows a volatile session Thursday when BTC broke below $73,000 after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps targeted a US airbase in Kuwait, triggering a broad risk-off wave that wiped $90 billion from the total crypto market cap.
"The Hormuz de-escalation removes the single largest geopolitical risk premium that was weighing on Bitcoin's price this week," Nina Volkov, a crypto macro analyst, said. "The short squeeze on top of that created a mechanical bid that pushed price through the $74,000 resistance level in a single session."
The price surge triggered liquidations of short positions across major exchanges, with Coinglass data showing $42 million in BTC shorts wiped out in the four hours following Trump's statement. The move comes after eight consecutive days of net outflows from US spot Bitcoin ETFs, which had shed more than $2 billion combined through Thursday, including $737.70 million on Wednesday and an additional $800 million across Bitcoin and Ethereum funds on Thursday — the largest single-day net redemption in weeks.
The $74,000 level now serves as the first line of support, with resistance at $76,000 — the 200-day moving average that rejected price action on May 6 when BTC reached $82,400 before pulling back. A sustained hold above $74,000 would invalidate the bearish pattern that had formed after Thursday's selloff, when the Crypto Fear and Greed Index dropped to 31, firmly in "Fear" territory. The next macro catalyst on the calendar is the May CPI release, which traders will watch for confirmation that the risk-on rotation can extend beyond the geopolitical reprieve.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
