Bitcoin Surges Past $72,700 as Trump-Iran Ceasefire Triggers Massive Crypto Short Squeeze

Markets were caught off guard Tuesday night when President Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran via Truth Social, sending bitcoin rocketing past $72,700 and triggering one of the most violent short squeezes in recent crypto history. Traders who had spent weeks positioning for further downside were wiped out in roughly two hours.

According to CoinGlass data, the move liquidated $595 million across 118,489 traders. Short sellers bore the brunt of the damage, accounting for $427 million of total liquidations compared to just $168 million in longs — a ratio exceeding 2.5-to-1 that underscores how lopsided bearish sentiment had become heading into the deadline. The single largest wipeout was an $11.79 million BTC-USDT short on Binance.

Bitcoin led with $245 million in liquidations, followed by Ethereum at $126 million. Solana contributed $19.6 million and Zcash saw $13.4 million. Perhaps the sharpest reversal came in commodity-linked crypto products — tokenized Brent crude futures on Hyperliquid shed $33 million as oil prices collapsed more than 10%, with WTI crude falling to around $95 and Brent dropping near $99. Tokenized gold and silver positions were also caught in the unwind as war premium rapidly exited the commodity complex.

The destruction was concentrated: $508 million of the $595 million total was liquidated within a 12-hour window, with shorts absorbing $398 million — the most aggressive squeeze since early March when ceasefire speculation first emerged.

Context matters here. The Fear and Greed Index had sat at 8 just days earlier, sustaining readings below 10 throughout the conflict. Santiment data showed bearish social sentiment outnumbering bullish posts nearly 5-to-4. Every positioning indicator was one-sided. The ceasefire moved the market in the opposite direction with full force.

Bitcoin now sits at the upper boundary of the $65,000–$73,000 range that has held since the war began. Whether this ceasefire holds — and whether bitcoin finally breaks out — depends entirely on what happens when those two weeks expire.