Bitcoin trades above $72,000 as two-week US-Iran ceasefire agreed

Bitcoin was trading near $71,700, up about 4% over the past 24 hours after briefly touching $72,753 intraday, its highest print in 20 days. The move followed a US-Iran agreement to suspend military hostilities for two weeks.

Ceasefire lifts risk sentiment across markets

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday via Truth Social that he would suspend military action against Iran for two weeks, hours before a deadline he set for Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face strikes on key infrastructure. Iran’s Supreme National Security Council accepted the ceasefire, while stating the pause does not end the broader conflict—an issue markets may need to reprice if hostilities resume around April 22.

Cross-asset moves suggested the rally was part of a broader risk-on shift. Brent crude moved back toward about $94 per barrel from elevated levels, easing inflation expectations and reducing risk-off pressure that had kept Bitcoin capped below $70,000 for nearly two weeks. S&P 500 and Dow futures also rose, indicating the move was not purely crypto-specific.

Riya Sehgal of Delta Exchange said Bitcoin is behaving like “a high-beta macro asset,” sensitive to liquidity, rate expectations, and geopolitical stability. CoinSwitch Markets Desk projected a potential move toward $75,000 if momentum holds, while identifying $68,000 as near-term support.

Short liquidations and broad crypto gains

Analysts described the move as a short squeeze layered on a geopolitical relief trade. Approximately $400 million in short positions were liquidated in the eight hours after Trump’s announcement, with an additional $270 million unwound over the following 24 hours.

The broader crypto market cap reached $2.52 trillion at the peak. Ethereum, Solana, XRP, and Dogecoin also posted gains alongside Bitcoin, consistent with a broad recovery in risk appetite.

Can Bitcoin hold above $72,000?

Entering Tuesday’s session, Bitcoin had been range-bound between $66,000 and $70,200 for most of Q1 2026, with Strait of Hormuz disruptions acting as a ceiling on risk appetite. The $70,000 level had held as a key threshold for nearly two weeks before the ceasefire announcement cleared it.

The Crypto Fear & Greed Index showed an extreme fear reading of 11 on Tuesday, suggesting the market was heavily underpositioned ahead of the rally and helping explain the scale of short liquidations.

Bull case

The bullish scenario depends on Iran complying with Hormuz reopening through the two-week window, oil stabilizing below $95, and ETF inflows sustaining above $400 million per week. Under this view, Bitcoin could consolidate above $72,000 and target $75,000, where the next resistance cluster sits. The invalidation level for the thesis is near $70,200.

Bear case

The bearish scenario centers on hostilities resuming before the two-week window ends, or only partial compliance with Hormuz passage. In that case, Bitcoin could retrace to $68,269, the intraday low from Tuesday’s volatile session, with deeper support near $66,000 if risk-off conditions return. The ceasefire language—explicitly stating it does not signal an end to the conflict—keeps this risk non-trivial.

ETF flows: does institutional demand confirm the move?

Spot Bitcoin ETF inflows reached $471 million on April 6, according to available flow data, indicating some institutional participation in the relief rally. At the same time, on-chain data flagged large-holder selling pressure during the same window, raising the question of whether ETF inflows reflect genuine accumulation or tactical positioning ahead of a potential reversal.

The durability of the rally may hinge on whether it is driven mainly by short liquidations and headline sentiment—along with institutional selling into strength—or by net new demand entering the market. The article also noted that open interest will be an important next signal: if open interest rebuilds alongside price, it would suggest fresh longs rather than a move driven purely by short covering.

Until the Strait of Hormuz is demonstrably reopened and the two-week ceasefire survives its first stress test, the current Bitcoin move is described as a geopolitical relief trade rather than a structural trend change.