Bitcoin Clings to $64,000 as Iran Closures Hormuz and US Threatens Retaliation

Bitcoin (BTC) returned to $64,000 on Sunday amid concerns over unreliable BTC price strength.

Key points:

Bitcoin brushes off US-Iran tensions despite the Strait of Hormuz being closed.A trader calls BTC price behavior “suspicious” as a result, while targets see maximum upside reaching $66,000.Binance sell-side pressure remains substantial.

BTC price ignores new Hormuz closure, Iran strike threats

Data from TradingView showed BTC/USD hitting local highs of $64,522 on Bitstamp before reversing to trade 0.5% lower on the day.

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

The pair maintained most of its gains despite fresh instability in the US-Iran war, with Tehran once again closing the Strait of Hormuz oil route and placing the current peace deal in doubt.

Israeli strikes on Lebanon lay at the heart of the stand-off, with Iran warning that last week’s ceasefire could unravel entirely as a result. US President Donald Trump responded with defiant rhetoric.

“Iran must immediately stop their highly paid PROXIES in Lebanon from causing trouble,” he wrote in a post on Truth Social, threatening “harder” strikes on Iran.

Source: Truth Social

Hours before US futures markets were due to open, crypto traders were predictably cautious.

“$BTC is pumping with rising geopolitical tensions, very suspicious,” trader Lennaert Snyder commented on X.

Snyder nonetheless saw a potential move to $66,000 as part of the current uptick, predicting an “interesting week” for Bitcoin.

Fellow trader Killa, meanwhile, warned that history favored the week’s high coming sooner rather than later.

“Monday hasn’t been kind to $BTC lately,” they told X followers. 

“Over the past six weeks, 6 out of 6 Mondays have marked a local pivot high before price moved lower.”

BTC/USD chart with Monday peaks marked. Source: Killa/X

Binance spot market sellers keep up pressure

Analysis of exchange order books produced further misgivings.

Related: Bitcoin tipped for Q3 ‘macro bottom’ near $50K as major liquidity grab looms

Commentator Exitpump said that short interest on Binance meant that it was the derivatives markets behind the latest price rise.

“Despite price slowly grinding higher, Binance spot continues to sell into the move. Mostly perps driven move up,” they wrote on Saturday.

BTC/USD 10-minute chart with order-book data (Binance). Source: Exitpump/X

Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on persistent “aggressive” sell pressure from Binance keeping bulls in check.