Bitcoin Near $80,200 as $28.3M of Longs Liquidate

Bitcoin traded near $80,200 on Friday, oscillating between about $80,200 and $79,200, as brief skirmishes between U.S. forces and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Strait of Hormuz coincided with muted price movement. Exchanges recorded $28.3 million in long positions liquidated in the most recent 24-hour period.

The price action followed U.S. nonfarm payrolls showing an increase of 115,000 in April, which did not produce a sustained lift for bitcoin. Its market capitalization stood just under $1.6 trillion, roughly 2% higher than a week earlier, leaving the cryptocurrency marginally up for the workweek.

Liquidations eased as prices consolidated. In the latest 24 hours, exchanges reported $28.3 million of longs and $14.5 million of shorts liquidated, compared with about $91 million of longs and $12 million of shorts in the prior 24-hour window. Across the crypto market, roughly $202 million in leveraged positions were closed out, with longs accounting for about $103 million of that total.

Energy markets registered initial spikes after the security incident in the Strait of Hormuz; Brent crude and West Texas Intermediate both moved higher early in the session before premiums largely evaporated by midday. Brent was near $101 per barrel and WTI near $95.

Equities advanced, with the S&P 500 closing above 7,400, a 17.2% gain since March 30 and an increase of about $10 trillion in market value over 29 trading days.

A Bitunix analyst wrote that liquidation heatmaps show “significant liquidity is concentrated around the $78,000 zone, meaning a breakdown below this area could trigger further liquidation pressure. At the same time, dense short liquidity remains stacked between $82,000 and $83,000.” The analyst highlighted clustered orders both below and above the current price.

The military exchanges were brief and oil premiums reversed by midday; bitcoin remained range-bound as clustered long positions below and short orders above defined the trading band.