Oil falls, Bitcoin jumps to $72K, but is this BTC price breakout for real?

Bitcoin (BTC) surged to $72,700 during Monday’s New York trading session as oil fell below $100 per barrel after US President Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire with Iran.

Key takeaways:

• Bitcoin bounced 7% to $72,700 on Tuesday after the US and Iran agreed to a two-week ceasefire.
• Over $431 million in short positions have been liquidated in the last 24 hours.
• Traders say Bitcoin price must decisively break the $72,000-$76,000 range to confirm trend change.

Bitcoin hits three-week high with 7% rebound

Data from TradingView showed BTC price rose as much as 7.4% to $72,760 from a low of $67,274 on Tuesday, recouping all the losses made over the last 20 days. The last time BTC/USD traded above $72,000 was on March 18.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The price reacted to Trump’s confirmation of a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, conditional on “complete, immediate, and safe opening,” of the Strait of Hormuz.

Source: TruthSocial/Donald J. Trump

“Geopolitics moves crypto faster than any TA. One post from Trump and billions flow back into markets,” analyst Mr Brondor said in response to Bitcoin’s reaction following the news.

The move in Bitcoin was accompanied by $431 million in short liquidations over the last 24 hours, with BTC short liquidations accounting for $214.8 million.

Related: Bitcoin holds $67K support as data exposes price to sentiment divergence

This brought the total liquidations across the crypto market over the last 24 hours to $610 million.

Oil, which had spiked above $110–$118 per barrel amid the conflict, dropped by as much as 16% to $92 from an intraday high of $110, while WTI crude dropped to $90, before recovering to $95, at the time of writing.

CFDs on WTI crude oil one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Commenting on BTC price action, trading company QCP Capital held the view that despite its gains, the broader setup remains fragile.

“Hormuz reopening is conditional, infrastructure damage has already occurred, and Friday’s talks will need to deliver tangible progress,” it wrote in its latest “Market Color” update, adding:

“For now, the key question is whether that relief can hold through the next cluster of catalysts, including Fed minutes, CPI, and the first real diplomatic test of this two-week pause.”

BTC price trend change still in question

Bitcoin still faces bearish hurdles to recovery, with traders concerned about a bear-flag breakdown repeating on the daily chart.

“BTC bulls still have a lot of work to do,” crypto trader Jelle said in a post on X, adding,

“The argument for a bearish flag into key resistance remains strong.”

The analyst warned his followers not to get “euphoric” about the latest relief rally as it may be delayed by resistance from the flag’s upper boundary, which is within the $72,000-$76,000 supply zone, as shown in the chart below.

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: X/Jelle

“Bitcoin reclaimed $72,000, but bears are waiting at this level,” fellow analyst Crypto Patel said, adding that Bitcoin will “decide the next move” once it breaks above $76,000.

“HTF close above $76K → high chances BTC pushes toward $86K–$90K.  Rejection from $76K → Next leg down below $60,000.”

BTC/USD daily chart. Source: X/Crypto Patel

As Cointelegraph continues to report, numerous traders expect fresh leg down for BTC/USD toward the 200-week moving average and the realized price, which have historically marked bear market bottoms.