Bitcoin climbed to its highest level in nearly a month as growing optimism about a possible U.S.–Iran deal lifted sentiment across crypto markets, sending leveraged positions into mass liquidations.
The total crypto market cap rose to about $2.6 trillion, its largest level in a month. Data provider CoinGlass reported roughly 177,000 traders were liquidated for about $530 million over the past 24 hours, with most of those liquidations occurring in the last 12 hours. Approximately 80% of the losses—about $425 million—were tied to leveraged short positions in Bitcoin and Ether.
An X post from analyst “Bull Theory” claimed that “over $300 billion in crypto shorts were liquidated” in recent hours, a move the analyst said added more than $100 billion to overall market capitalization. Valerius Labs cautioned the move may be a short squeeze meeting selling pressure, commenting, “This isn’t a breakout. It’s a short squeeze running into overhead supply. Real buyers show up above the 200 SMA, not 15% below it.”
Bitcoin briefly touched a four-week high just under $75,000 on Coinbase in late trading Tuesday before pulling back to about $74,290 at the time of reporting. Ether made a larger daily gain, rising roughly 7.5% to $2,380, its strongest level since early February.
Market participants said derivatives activity drove much of the price action, though renewed hopes for an agreement to end weeks of U.S.–Iran tensions appear to be pushing investors toward risk assets. Institutional buying via spot Bitcoin ETFs and purchases by centralized exchanges were also cited as contributing factors.
Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, told Cointelegraph that the rally reflects trader belief that the U.S. and Iran are moving closer to a deal. He noted Iran’s economic reliance on oil exports and suggested the country may be motivated to reach an agreement quickly given pressure on shipping lanes.
A U.S. naval blockade began Monday; President Donald Trump warned that Iranian ships approaching the blockade would be “immediately eliminated,” likening the action to anti-drug interdiction at sea.
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