Short sellers who had bet on further escalation in the Iran conflict were hit with $427 million in losses over 24 hours, as bitcoin surged past $72,000 following the ceasefire announcement.
Bearish positioning built up over several days unraveled तेजी within roughly two hours late Tuesday, after Donald Trump confirmed a two-week ceasefire with Iran on Truth Social just ahead of his 8 p.m. ET deadline. Bitcoin spiked above $72,700 on the news, catching traders off guard.
The sharp move triggered $595 million in total crypto liquidations across 118,489 traders, according to CoinGlass data. Short positions made up the bulk of the damage at $427 million, compared to $168 million in longs—highlighting a heavily one-sided market leaning bearish into the event.
The single largest liquidation was an $11.79 million BTC-USDT short on Binance. Bitcoin accounted for $245 million of total liquidations, while ether saw $126 million. Tokenized Brent Crude futures on Hyperliquid contributed $33 million as oil prices dropped more than 10%, alongside another $42 million in West Texas Intermediate contracts.
Oil—previously one of the most liquidated assets during the conflict—reversed sharply as geopolitical risk eased. Brent fell to around $99 per barrel, while WTI declined to roughly $95, flipping positioning across energy-linked trades.
The most intense wave of liquidations occurred within a 12-hour window. Of the $595 million total, $508 million was wiped out in that period alone, with short positions accounting for $398 million. That marks the most aggressive short squeeze since early March, when bitcoin rallied on initial ceasefire speculation.
Across altcoins, Solana’s SOL saw $19.6 million in liquidations, ZEC recorded $13.4 million, and XRP added smaller losses alongside a broader unwind across the market. Even tokenized gold and silver positions were caught in the selloff as commodities repriced the fading war premium.
The ceasefire itself remains conditional. Trump described it as a “double-sided ceasefire,” stating that U.S. forces had already achieved their military objectives. Iran confirmed the pause but signaled uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz, noting that tanker transit would be allowed for two weeks subject to coordination with its military and certain technical constraints.
Market sentiment leading into the announcement had been extremely bearish. The Fear and Greed Index dropped to 8 on Sunday, extending a streak of sub-10 readings throughout the conflict. Data from Santiment also showed bearish social media posts outnumbering bullish ones five to four, underscoring the consensus for downside.
Bitcoin’s rally to $72,700 now places it at the upper end of the $65,000 to $73,000 range that has defined price action since the conflict began. Whether the breakout holds or proves to be another false move will likely depend on how the two-week ceasefire evolves.
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