The Bitcoin price has just recorded one of the strongest single-day gains of recent weeks. The cryptocurrency rose by more than five percent at times, approaching the $75,000 mark, after having oscillated for days within a narrow trading range of around $68,000 to $72,000. A combination of technical factors, geopolitical hopes, and continued institutional buying are considered the driving forces.

The outlook for altcoins also looks significantly better again at the moment. Ethereum in particular is showing strong gains, up more than 7% in 24 hours:

#	Asset	Price	24h	7d
1	Bitcoin (BTC)	$74,432.23	+4.72%	+8.61%
2	Ethereum (ETH)	$2,369.88	+7.78%	+12.76%
3	XRP	$1.36	+2.59%	+4.57%
4	BNB	$614.64	+2.69%	+2.69%
5	Solana (SOL)	$85.73	+4.08%	+7.82%
6	TRON (TRX)	$0.3212	+0.24%	+1.52%
7	Dogecoin (DOGE)	$0.09315	+1.87%	+2.90%
8	Hyperliquid (HYPE)	$44.75	+7.58%	+23.62%
9	UNUS SED LEO	$10.08	−0.40%	−0.37%
10	Cardano (ADA)	$0.2431	+1.68%	−0.11%
11	Bitcoin Cash (BCH)	$435.22	+2.01%	+1.14%

Short liquidations accelerate the price rally

Market analysts had previously pointed to a large accumulation of leveraged short positions in the range between $72,000 and $73,500. When the price broke through these resistance zones, these positions were forcibly liquidated, further accelerating the upward movement. According to data from the analytics service CoinGlass, around 177,000 traders were liquidated within 24 hours, with a total volume of $530 million.

Approximately 80 percent of these liquidations, corresponding to around $425 million, were attributable to leveraged short positions in Bitcoin and Ether. Ether recorded an even stronger single-day gain of 7.5 percent, reaching its highest level since early February at around $2,380.

Geopolitical backdrop: hopes for an Iran deal

In addition to technical factors, the geopolitical situation played a significant role. In the preceding weeks, a US naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz had driven oil prices above $100 per barrel and weighed on risk assets. In this environment, Bitcoin had at times fallen to around $70,000.

On April 13, reports spread indicating that Iran was actively seeking an agreement with the US government. Jeff Mei, Chief Operating Officer of the crypto exchange BTSE, told Cointelegraph that markets rose primarily because traders believed a deal was imminent.

US President Donald Trump confirmed to journalists that Iran was signaling a willingness to negotiate, but emphasized that no agreement would be accepted that would allow Tehran to possess nuclear weapons.

Strategy ramps up Bitcoin purchases via STRC program

Alongside the price increase, the company Strategy announced a milestone in its STRC preferred stock program. On April 13, a daily trading volume of over one billion dollars was recorded, with all transactions taking place above the par value of $100 required for the share issuance.

According to estimates from the tracker “Bitcoin for Corporations,” the volume on that day generated proceeds of around $796 million, with which approximately 10,834 Bitcoin could potentially be acquired at an average price of around $73,400. This quantity is equivalent to more than 24 times the daily Bitcoin mining output following the last halving.

For the week of April 6 to 12, Strategy had already generated net proceeds of $1.001 billion from the ATM program, according to an SEC filing, acquiring 13,927 Bitcoin at an average price of $71,902. The so-called capture rate — the share of eligible trading volume converted into proceeds — rose to 81 percent, compared with 45 percent at the beginning of March.

Market assessment: breakout or short squeeze?

Despite the strong price increase, analysts remain divided in their assessment. Critical voices such as Valerius Labs point out that the rally was driven primarily by liquidations and that Bitcoin is still trading well below its 200-day moving average. Other observers cite institutional inflows via spot ETFs and the continued purchases by treasury companies such as Strategy as indications of a broader demand base.

The total value of the crypto market rose in the course of the move to around $2.6 trillion, its highest level in a month. Whether the price can sustainably break through the $75,000 mark is likely to depend significantly on how the geopolitical situation in the Middle East and the monetary policy of the US Federal Reserve develop.