Bitcoin surged toward $78,000 on Friday, marking its strongest rally in over two months as easing geopolitical tensions fueled a broad crypto rebound. The leading cryptocurrency jumped 5%, with Ethereum and Solana posting similar gains, sharply diverging from oil's 11% drop after the Strait of Hormuz reopened.

The Catalysts Behind BTC’s Resurgence

Commenting on the market reaction, Matt Mena, senior crypto research strategist at 21Shares, told Bloomberg that the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is the “risk-on signal” global markets have been waiting for. 

In his view, removing what he described as one of the most significant geopolitical choke points has helped “uncork” a larger wave of liquidity and investor confidence, supporting demand across risk assets—including digital currencies.

Beyond the geopolitical backdrop, several additional catalysts are also being cited by Bloomberg. One notable driver is institutional buying: Strategy (previously MicroStrategy) has acquired $2.6 billion in Bitcoin during the past two weeks. 

According to Bohan Jiang, a senior derivatives trader at FalconX, this has helped “underpin” the market, providing additional support as prices rebound. Still, investors are now looking for clarity on how far the rally can extend. 

What’s Next For Bitcoin?

Market analyst Ali Martinez pointed to a key technical level that Bitcoin has repeatedly struggled with: the 100-day simple moving average (SMA). 

As Martinez noted in a recent post on X (formerly Twitter), Bitcoin has now cleared that resistance level, which is currently just above $74,000. He also highlighted that this is the third time since late 2025 that BTC has tested the 100-day SMA.

In Martinez’s assessment, the pattern previously played out in two different setbacks. The first time BTC reacted there in October, it led to a 30% pullback. The second time, in January, it resulted in a 39% correction. 

With that nearest resistance cleared, Martinez suggested the invalidation of the earlier pattern could open the door for a move toward the 200-day SMA, which is close to $88,000. If that target is reached, BTC could gain an additional 12% from current levels.

Featured image from OpenArt, chart from TradingView.com