Bitcoin Catches A Break With US Stocks As BTC Climbs To $72,500

Bitcoin (BTC) reversed its losses after Mondayโ€™s Wall Street open as markets digested the newest developments in the US-Iran war.

Key points:

  • Bitcoin joins US stocks in a relief bounce despite the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz going ahead.

  • The measures exclude shipping traffic from non-Iranian ports, analysis notes.

  • BTC price perspectives warn of a fresh downward reversal next.

Crypto โ€œpanic has fadedโ€ over Iran

Data from TradingView showed BTC price action abruptly heading higher, reaching $72,530 on Bistamp.

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

The US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz began Monday at 10 a.m. EDT, but markets appeared relieved that traffic not going to or from Iranian ports would be unaffected.

According to trading resource The Kobeissi Letter, the US would โ€œnot impede freedom of navigation for vessels transiting โ€‹the Strait โ€‹of โ Hormuz to and from non-Iranian ports.โ€

โ€œA successful blockade of Iranian ports would cut off the majority of the already restricted oil exports from the region,โ€ it wrote in a post on X, warning over US gas prices hitting $4.25 per gallon.

WTI crude oil circled $102 per barrel, having briefly retested the $100 mark that it passed at the start of futures trading.

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

US stocks, meanwhile, canceled out the initial downside from the news that negotiations between the US and Iran had failed.

Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were green on the day at the time of writing.

S&P 500 one-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

Commenting, trading company QCP Capital flagged the increasing role of Chinese trade as a factor in the Iran saga.

โ€œChina sits at the centre of this. With Iranian crude largely flowing east, any blockade would cut directly into Beijingโ€™s supply chain,โ€ it wrote in its latest โ€œMarket Colorโ€ update.ย 

QCP argued that โ€œeven with a strong US naval presence, the question is not intent but enforcement.โ€

โ€œIntercepting Chinese vessels in international waters would risk a materially larger escalation, and markets are not priced for that outcome. Instead, they are leaning on a familiar playbook: rhetoric escalates, reality softens,โ€ it continued.

โ€œCrypto is reflecting that view. Despite renewed blockade threats, implied vols and risk reversals have drifted back toward pre-conflict levels, a signal that panic has faded even if uncertainty has not.โ€

Trader warns of โ€œBart Simpsonโ€ BTC price reversal

Traders maintained a risk-off stance on short-term BTC price action.

Related: Oil price surges 8% on Iran tensions: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week

Trader Jelle warned that BTC/USD may print a classic โ€œBart Simpsonโ€ failed breakout pattern next, effectively erasing its gains from earlier in April.

โ€œAs said earlier today, eyes on $70.5k,โ€ he advised X followers.

In a previous post, Jelle said that Bitcoinโ€™s bear flag pattern on daily time frames was โ€œstill in play.โ€

As Cointelegraph reported, the pattern threatened a repeat of the January price action, with Bitcoin risking new macro lows.

BTC/USD one-day chart with bear flag. Source: Jelle/X

In his latest analysis, meanwhile, trader CrypNuevo saw few actionable moves in the current trading range.

โ€œIt’s the clearest chart in a long time: Nothing to do here at mid-range – wait for price to trade at one of the extremes, probably this week or the next,โ€ an X thread on Sunday stated.

CrypNuevo flagged the area between $59,000 and $61,000 for entering swing long positions.

BTC/USDT one-day chart. Source: CrypNuevo/X