The flagship crypto rallied over 5.8% to hit $74,787 at press time after US President Donald Trump said that Iran may be looking to negotiate a new agreement after the American Navy began patrolling vital shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz.

The US began enforcing its maritime blockade on Monday morning when President Trump threatened to sink any Iranian naval ship or tanker that would look to pass through the strait.

“If any of these ships come anywhere close to our blockade, they will be immediately eliminated,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

This was in retaliation for Iran refusing to deal with Western powers and having effectively blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the beginning of the war in February.

As a result, oil prices surged above $100 a barrel over the weekend, pressuring risk markets.

However, with the news that Iran may concede to prevent further damage to its shattered economy, it has once again reignited hopes of de-escalation.

Oil prices, including Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude, have consequently fallen back below $100 per barrel.

Speaking to reporters outside of the Oval Office, Trump said that “the right people” have reached out to the administration for a deal.

Short squeeze supports Bitcoin push

As previously speculated by Invezz, this latest rally was not unexpected, as there was a dense concentration of high-leverage liquidation clusters between $72,000 and $73,000.

With Bitcoin price hitting its highest level for a month, over 180,985 traders were liquidated, totaling $534.65 million.

Of this total, over $430 million were leveraged short positions in Bitcoin and Ether.

The carnage is still ongoing as, over the past hour, nearly $3.4 million worth of short positions were liquidated as the rally continues.

The next key zone that Bitcoin needs to penetrate is between $75,000 and $76,000, where another massive wall of short liquidity resides.

According to the CoinGlass liquidation heatmap, a move into this range could trigger a secondary wave of forced buy-ins.

If the bulls can maintain enough momentum to pierce the $76,000 psychological barrier, it would likely clear the path for a retest of the all-time high near $77,739.

However, the short-term trajectory would also hinge on the March Producer Price Index (PPI) data, which is set for release at 8:30 AM ET later today.

If the data comes in cooler than the forecasted 1.2% (MoM), it could signal a welcome cooling of wholesale inflation, suggesting that the Fed may finally have enough breathing room to consider shifting away from its "higher-for-longer" stance.

In that case, Bitcoin is well-positioned to capitalize on the returning risk-on sentiment, potentially fueling the momentum needed to liquidate the $76,000 clusters and propel the price toward new record highs.
source: https://www.tradingview.com/news/invezz:aa5855e27094b:0-bitcoin-breaks-74k-as-us-iran-deal-hopes-grow-sparking-crypto-rally/