BTC retakes $76K as XLM leads gains and liquidations jump

Bitcoin moved back above $76,000 over the past 24 hours as the crypto market recovered from recent losses. 

CoinGecko data cited in the report showed BTC trading around $76,400, up about 2% on the day and 11% over the past two weeks.

The rebound followed several days of sharp price swings tied to geopolitical tension in the Middle East. Late last week, Bitcoin climbed close to $78,000 after U.S. President Donald Trump said the Strait of Hormuz was open and claimed Iran had agreed to halt its nuclear program.

Iran later rejected those claims, and renewed attacks in the region pushed Bitcoin below $74,000 on April 20. The latest move higher brought BTC back into focus as traders watched whether the asset could hold ground above the $76,000 level.

Bitcoin’s market capitalization rose above $1.5 trillion during the recovery. Its share of the total crypto market also stood near 57.4%, showing that Bitcoin remained the market’s largest driver during the latest bounce.

Strategy purchase adds to market attention

Bitcoin’s rebound came shortly after Strategy disclosed another major purchase. The company founded by Michael Saylor said it bought 34,164 BTC for more than $2.5 billion and now holds 815,061 BTC in total.

The purchase added fresh attention to Bitcoin at a time when traders were already tracking macro risk and market volatility. The report linked the timing of the rebound to Strategy’s announcement, though price action also remained tied to wider market sentiment.

The broader crypto market also moved higher. Total market capitalization rose about 2% over the last day to around $2.6 trillion.

Even with the rebound, trading remained sensitive to external headlines. Recent moves showed that Bitcoin still reacted quickly to developments tied to oil, regional conflict, and broader risk appetite.

Stellar leads altcoin gains

Altcoins followed Bitcoin higher, with several posting larger daily gains. Stellar (XLM) led the move among the better-known tokens after rising 7% to about $0.18, which marked a monthly high.

Toncoin, Mantle, and MemeCore also recorded gains of around 5% to 6% over the same period. Ethereum, XRP, and Solana posted smaller advances of around 1% to 2%, showing a more moderate response than some mid-cap tokens.

Not all assets moved higher. Rain, DeXe, and Pi Network traded lower, with losses of around 2% to 5%. That left the market mixed beneath the broader rebound, even as most of the top 100 cryptocurrencies posted gains.

The uneven performance suggested that traders were rotating into selected altcoins while Bitcoin continued to set the pace for the wider market.

Short liquidations top $197 million

At the same time, futures markets saw a wave of forced liquidations. Total liquidations across crypto futures reached $197.75 million over the past 24 hours, with Bitcoin and Ethereum short positions making up most of the amount.

The move reflected a short squeeze, where rising prices forced traders betting against the market to buy back positions at a loss. As exchanges closed leveraged shorts automatically, those buy-backs added more upward pressure to price.