The surprising total opening of the Strait of Hormuz has caused an “earthquake” in the financial markets, and the bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrency ecosystem has been no exception. This Friday, April 17, 2026, in a period of just approximately two hours, the digital asset market recorded massive liquidations of around $280 million at the time of this publication, according to data provided by Coinglass.
This “carnage” of leveraged positions was fueled by a accelerated rebound in the price of bitcoin, which surpassed the $78,000 barrieras seen in the image below:
The move caught traders holding short positions by surprise (shorts)who were confident that geopolitical instability would keep prices down or in a consolidation phase.
The following image shows how liquidations have increased during the last few hours. Please note that these settlements They correspond not only to bitcoin but to the entire cryptocurrency and token market.
As CriptoNoticias reported moments ago, the fundamental catalyst for this movement was the announcement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, Abbas Araqchi, about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz for commercial ships. As it is a route through which 20% of the world’s oil production travels, its unblocking plummeted the price of a barrel of Brent below $90.
For investors, the fall in oil is a signal related to the decline in inflation. Lower energy costs reduce pressure on central banks (e.g. the US FED), allowing for more flexible monetary policy. This scenario that would potentially increase global liquidity has propelled bitcoin upwards.
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