Bitcoin nears $75K as Iran deal hopes spark $400M short squeeze

Bitcoin rose to its highest level in nearly a month, triggering liquidations worth hundreds of millions of dollars as sentiment improved on hopes of a deal between the Trump administration and Iran.

The broader crypto market climbed to a total value of $2.6 trillion, its highest level for a month. Over the past 24 hours, CoinGlass data showed 177,000 traders were liquidated for $530 million.

Most of the liquidations occurred in the past 12 hours. CoinGlass reported that 80% of the total liquidations, or $425 million, were leveraged short positions in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH).

Short squeeze drives the rally

Analyst “Bull Theory” said on X on Monday that more than $300 billion in crypto shorts were liquidated over the past few hours, adding more than $100 billion to total crypto market capitalization.

Valerius Labs said the move was not a sustained breakout, describing it as a short squeeze into supply overhead. “Real buyers show up above the 200 SMA [simple moving average], not 15% below it.”

Price moves in Bitcoin and Ether

Bitcoin tapped a four-week high just below $75,000 on Coinbase in late trading on Tuesday, according to TradingView. It was rejected at heavy resistance and had retreated to $74,290 at the time of writing.

Ether rose more sharply, gaining 7.5% on the day to reach $2,380, its highest level since early February.

What’s behind the market optimism

The latest move appears to be driven by derivatives, but broader expectations of a US-Iran deal to end weeks of conflict that have weighed on global markets may also be supporting investor confidence in riskier assets.

Other cited factors include institutional inflows via spot crypto exchange-traded funds and centralized exchanges buying Bitcoin.

Iran deal expectations and economic pressure

Jeff Mei, chief operating officer at BTSE, told Cointelegraph that markets are rallying largely because “traders believe the US and Iran are coming closer to a deal.”

Mei said Iran’s economic lifeline depends on oil exports, and that a US blockade of vital shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz could severely damage its economy.

“Now, it appears that Iran is frantically looking to broker a deal, and stock and crypto markets are rallying as a response.”

US blockade and nuclear red line

A US military blockade began on Monday, with President Donald Trump threatening any Iranian ships that approach.

Trump said on Truth Social on Monday that if any ships come close to the blockade, they will be “immediately eliminated,” using the same system of kill “that we use against the drug dealers on boats at sea.”

He also told reporters that Iran wants to make a deal, but that his administration will not agree to any arrangement that allows Tehran to have a nuclear weapon.