Bitcoin Dips to $70.6K as US Blockades Hormuz, Descending Trendline Holds

Bitcoin (BTC) fell as low as $70,623 on Sunday after US President Donald Trump announced a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz following collapsed peace talks with Iran. The price initially slipped 1.9% to $71,686 after Trump confirmed the move on Truth Social, stating that negotiations failed because Iran refused to end its nuclear program — the only issue that "really mattered."

As the US futures markets opened late Sunday night, the drop sped up to $70,623. Within 30 minutes of the open, oil prices shot up 9.5% to $105 per barrel. It was down 2.7% for the day when this was written.

At a very important technical level, the refusal came. Bitcoin's rise from $60,000 in early February to $71,000 ran into a trendline that has been going down since the peak of $126,000 in October 2025. This has stopped every big bounce. Less highs for six months. Six months of buyers taking charge at resistance. The trendline stayed put.

What Moved the Market: The Hormuz Blockade and Failed Peace Talks

Soon after a short truce that didn't last, the spark arrived. Along with the truce, Iran had asked for war reparations and the unfreezing of frozen bank assets. That's what Trump didn't say in his Truth Social post. Instead, he said it was Iran's nuclear program's fault and called Tehran's use of mines and calls for tolls on the waterway "world extortion."

He told the US Navy to remove the mines and block any ships that paid Iran. One-fifth of all oil trade goes through the Strait of Hormuz. For six weeks now, the market has been unstable because of this, causing the most volatile oil prices since Russia attacked Ukraine in early 2022.

Even though there is a war going on, Bitcoin's value has gone up about 7.4% to $71,194 since February 28, when Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a US attack. Since the war began, Bitcoin has done better than the S&P 500 and gold, but it is still a long way below its October high of $126,080.

The Technical Picture: Textbook Trendline Rejection

The declining trendline is made by joining peaks that are getting lower and lower. Picture a ball being thrown from a high place. Each bounce makes the ball lower than the last. Connect those lower highs with a straight line. That's the trendline, which shows that buyers' power is waning and sellers' control is growing.

This line of movement has been there for six months in Bitcoin. On its own, the rise from $60,000 to $71,000 looked like a sign of strength. You can see that it's a recovery rise within a larger downtrend if you zoom out. Overnight, the trendline was put to the test. The prices went down. This is what traders call a trendline rejection: sellers beat buyers right where the bear-market trendline said they would.

How things should be tells you what should happen. Analysts said that the rise to $88,000 was caused by Coinbase premium ETF inflows and macro forces. You can see what's going on in the price report. It's best to be careful after the failure at the six-month bear market trendline.

Two Scenarios From Here

The most important thing is the trendline.

Scenario 1: The refusal makes people more likely to sell, which causes the price to fall even more, reaching $65,000.

Second possibility: Bitcoin goes back up and breaks through the trendline. That would be a big positive change that would bring the picture in line with the bullish story behind the numbers.

The chart and the bull case are telling two different stories until the second idea comes true.

Investor Takeaway

The price met instant resistance at $71,000, where the descending trendline stopped it. If prices close above that level on significant volume, not just a small increase during the day, the six-month decline would be thrown out. If it isn't broken, it could go back to $65,000 because the blockade of the Hormuz Strait keeps oil prices volatile and the economy unclear.

The Strait of Hormuz is the timepiece of the trade. Keep an eye on whether the US naval enforcement really stops the flow of tankers or whether the blockade turns into another way to negotiate and ends in days instead of weeks. If oil stays above $100, it would confirm the supply shock and put pressure on risky investments like Bitcoin.

The arrow on the chart shows the time. It's not easy to break six months of lower highs. But when they do, they usually make a sharp move. Which clock runs out first in the next $71,000 test?