Bitcoin holds $78K as oil tops $100 — the inflation trade is back in play!

Bitcoin closed the week near $78,300, extending its April recovery by roughly 15% even as Brent crude surged past $107 a barrel and WTI posted a weekly gain of more than 17%. The catalyst was President Trump's escalating rhetoric over the Strait of Hormuz — declaring the US Navy had "total control" of the waterway and ordering it "sealed up tight" until Iran reaches a deal. With roughly 20 million barrels of daily throughput disrupted, oil traders quickly priced a longer supply shock.

The rally's engine was derivatives. CryptoQuant data showed open interest climbing from $24.88 billion to nearly $28 billion as Bitcoin surged from $76,351 to $79,447 on Thursday. Short liquidations reached $607.9 million on Bitcoin alone — against just $12.8 million in long liquidations — a squeeze amplified by 46 consecutive days of negative perpetual funding even as open interest rose 12%.

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