With almost seven weeks into the war in the Middle East, the two main sides, the US and Iran, announced some major de-escalation news on Friday, which included the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and some progress on the peace talk front.
This resulted in immediate volatility in all financial markets, with BTC surging to a 10-week peak of over $78,000. The altcoins followed suit, resulting in rising liquidations.
De-Escalation
It all began a few hours ago when the US President Donald Trump announced that Iran had agreed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was later confirmed by officials of the Middle Eastern country. Shortly after, the POTUS explained that Iran and the US will work together to get the mines out of the Strait.
Additionally, he noted that both nations will recover Iran’s enriched uranium, which will be sent back to the US. Trump added that a permanent peace deal between the US/Israel, and Iran is “mostly complete,” and more talks will “probably” be held this weekend as most points have been finalized.
Lastly, Trump claimed that Iran had agreed to “suspend its nuclear program indefinitely” and would not receive any frozen funds from the US.
BREAKING: President Trump says Iran has agreed to suspend its nuclear program indefinitely, and will not receive any frozen funds from the US, per Bloomberg.
Details include:
1. Trump says that a deal to end the war between the US/Israel and Iran is now “mostly complete”
2.…
— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) April 17, 2026
BTC Price Taps $78K
Bitcoin reacted immediately to the news about the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, surging toward $77,000. The subsequent developments pushed it even further, and it tapped $78,400 minutes ago for the first time since February 4.
Although it was stopped there and now sits below $78,000, BTC is still 5% up on the day, and more than 7% higher than this time last Friday. Many altcoins, such as ETH and XRP, have marked 5%+ gains as well, which has pushed the total crypto market cap to over $2.7 trillion.
Data from CoinGlass shows that more than $810 million worth of leveraged positions have been wiped out in the past day, with longs responsible for the lion’s share ($663 million). The single-largest liquidation took place on Hyperliquid and was worth almost $16 million.
In contrast, USOIL is down by 12% in the past day as it dipped below $80 earlier for the first time in five weeks.
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