Key Takeaways:
- Bitcoin surged past $78,000 on April 22, 2026, after Trump extended the U.S.-Iran ceasefire indefinitely.
- The rally triggered $320 million in liquidations and boosted the total crypto market cap to $2.7 trillion.
- Traders are monitoring the IRGC and port blockades as Tehran decides whether to return to the peace table.
Trump Maintains Port Blockade Amid Peace Efforts
Bitcoin roared past $78,000 hours after President Donald Trump extended the ceasefire between Iran and the U.S. indefinitely. According to Bitstamp data, the top cryptocurrency peaked at $78,446 around 1:15 a.m. EST, completely reversing losses made since April 20, when it tumbled below $74,000.
As shown by the daily chart, bitcoin’s surge brought its weekly gains to 5.5% and more than 15% since the beginning of the month. The jump saw bitcoin’s market capitalization reclaim the $1.56 trillion threshold it previously reached on April 17.
Writing on Truth Social, Trump, who had earlier threatened to resume bombing Iranian infrastructure, said the extension was intended to give the fractured Iranian leadership time to “come up with a unified proposal.” However, he said the blockade on Iranian ports, which has effectively cut off a vital revenue source for Tehran, would remain in place—a decision likely to be used by Iran to refuse to come to the negotiating table.
The country’s ambassador to the United Nations is the latest official to reiterate Iran’s position that the blockade violates the ceasefire agreement.
The ‘TACO’ Moment and Iranian Infighting
The U.S. president’s latest “Trump always chickens out (TACO)” moment unfolded against the backdrop of a deepening schism within the Iranian leadership. Recent Western media dispatches have detailed a high-stakes power struggle between the Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf and a hard-line Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander, Major General Ahmad Vahidi.
While Ghalibaf is reportedly advocating for a diplomatic off-ramp to ease economic pressure, Vahidi appears intent on leveraging military friction to extract concessions. This internal friction was punctuated by reports of an aggressive maneuver against a commercial container ship by alleged IRGC fast-attack boats, a move that suggests the military wing may be bypassing civilian leadership to dictate the terms of the engagement.
Despite the ceasefire extension not resulting in changes on the ground, global markets took the news as a small win, as shown by modest gains in Asian equities. In the cryptocurrency market, altcoins also saw a bounce; ethereum ( ETH) jumped 3%, while monero ( XMR) and bitcoin cash ( BCH) rose by 7.8% and 5.5%, respectively.
The rally in bitcoin and altcoins saw the cryptocurrency economy’s market capitalization tap the $2.7 trillion mark, its highest since Feb. 3. The rally also triggered the liquidation of nearly $320 million in short bets across the crypto economy.
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On April 21, bitcoin experienced a volatile trading session, fluctuating between $75,000 and $77,000 as market sentiment swung alongside high-stakes…
