A sudden shift occurred within roughly two hours on Tuesday night as bitcoin surged beyond $72,700, following President Trump’s confirmation of a temporary ceasefire with Iran via Truth Social shortly before the 8 p.m. ET deadline. This announcement prompted $595 million in total crypto liquidations across 118,489 traders, according to data from CoinGlass.
The majority of these losses stemmed from short positions, which amounted to $427 million compared to $168 million from longs, illustrating a 2.5-to-1 ratio that highlighted the market’s expectation for further decline as the deadline approached. The most significant liquidation was an $11.79 million BTC-USDT short on Binance. Bitcoin led with $245 million in total liquidations, followed by ether at $126 million, and tokenized Brent oil futures on Hyperliquid contributing $33 million as crude prices dropped over 10%, along with an additional $42 million from CL (WTI crude) contracts.
Oil assets, which had been heavily traded throughout the conflict, shifted positions as Brent fell to around $99 and WTI declined to approximately $95. The majority of liquidations, totaling $508 million within a 12-hour window, were concentrated in this period, with short squeezes accounting for $398 million—marking one of the most aggressive moves since March 4 when bitcoin surged amid initial ceasefire speculation.
Other cryptocurrencies also experienced significant liquidations: Solana’s SOL saw $19.6 million, ZEC was at $13.4 million, and XRP along with numerous altcoins contributed smaller amounts. Even tokenized silver and gold positions were unwound as commodities adjusted for the removal of war premiums.
The ceasefire is conditional. Trump referred to it as a “double-sided ceasefire,” stating that U.S. military objectives had been “already met and exceeded.” While Iran confirmed the suspension, it emphasized conditions on oil tanker transit through the Strait of Hormuz, dependent on coordination with its armed forces and technical limitations.
Leading up to this, sentiment indicators were overwhelmingly bearish: The Fear and Greed Index was at 8 on Sunday, a low sustained since the conflict’s onset. Santiment data also showed five negative posts for every four positive ones. The ceasefire catalyzed an abrupt market reversal. Bitcoin’s rise to $72,700 places it within a range of $65,000 to $73,000 that has contained all rallies and sell-offs during the conflict.
The future impact of this movement will depend on whether the two-week period evolves into something more permanent or merely serves as another temporary fluctuation.