The ceiling that rejected Bitcoin four times in 2026 finally broke. Bitcoin surged past $77,000 on Friday April 18, hitting $77,319 and marking its highest level since the sharp selloff on February 5 that took it to $60,000. The move came on the back of oil crashing to $85.90 per barrel after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz fully open, the Nasdaq hitting fresh record highs, and a broader risk-on environment that has been building throughout the week. Total crypto market cap reached $2.70 trillion, up 2.8% in 24 hours.
The breakout is meaningful for the entire market, but for one company in particular, it changes the balance sheet overnight.
Strategy Is Back in the Black
Strategy is now back in profit on its bitcoin holdings, with an average purchase price of $75,577. MSTR is also trading above its 200-week moving average, a long-term trend indicator, for the first time since February.
Strategy holds 780,897 BTC, acquired for approximately $59 billion in total. At $77,000, that treasury is worth roughly $60.1 billion, putting the company into an unrealised gain of over $1 billion. Bitcoin’s move above $78,000 pushed the company’s holdings back into profit, generating roughly $1.8 billion in unrealised gains. Strategy is close to erasing its year-to-date losses, while MSTR stock surged nearly 15% in morning trade.
Just two weeks ago, Strategy reported a $14.5 billion unrealised loss on its Bitcoin holdings for Q1 2026. The speed of the reversal from $60,000 to $77,000 has flipped the company’s financial picture entirely.
How the $76,000 Wall Finally Broke
The $76,000 level had capped four separate BTC rally attempts in 2026 before today. CoinGlass data showed $450 million in sell orders stacked between $75,900 and $76,300. Price chipped through the wall across the morning session, triggering a cascade as liquidation levels were breached. Derivatives data confirmed the mechanical nature of the move: liquidations jumped 140% compared to recent sessions, and open interest continued to rise throughout the advance.
Rising open interest alongside rising liquidations indicates forced short covering rather than new speculative buying. This was the exact setup K33 Research’s Vetle Lunde described last week when he flagged 46 consecutive days of negative funding as an “attractive entry” for contrarians.
The shorts who had been profiting from Bitcoin’s inability to break above $76,000 became the fuel for the breakout when it finally happened. Every failed attempt had emboldened more traders to short the resistance. When the Hormuz headline and oil crash provided the catalyst, those crowded shorts were forced to buy, and their buying pushed the price through the very level they were betting against.
What Changed This Week
Three things converged to produce the breakout. First, Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz fully open for commercial shipping under the ceasefire framework. The news sent the price of WTI crude oil down nearly 10% to $85.90 per barrel, about its lowest price since shortly after the outbreak of the war. Cheaper oil translates directly into lower inflation expectations, which gives the Federal Reserve more room to consider rate cuts. That is the single most important macro variable for risk assets.
Second, the Nasdaq logged its longest winning streak since 2021 and the S&P 500 pushed toward all-time highs. When equities are making new records and crypto is rallying alongside them, the combined effect on investor confidence is powerful.
Third, Strategy’s relentless Bitcoin purchases continued to absorb supply. Strategy purchased 13,927 Bitcoin for about $1 billion last week at an average price of $71,902 per coin. The company has spent roughly $59.02 billion on its Bitcoin at an average cost of $75,577 per coin. All of last week’s purchases were funded through sales of Strategy’s STRC preferred stock, which now has a $6.4 billion market cap and has become the primary vehicle for institutional capital seeking leveraged Bitcoin exposure.
What Comes Next
Bitcoin reclaiming the 100-day moving average is a structural signal that technical traders track carefully. A sustained daily close above it would target $80,000 as the next resistance, with the 200-day SMA at $87,519 as the larger trend line that needs to be reclaimed for a full trend reversal.
The ceasefire expires on April 22. If the Hormuz remains open and talks resume, the path toward $80,000 and potentially higher opens up. If the ceasefire collapses and oil spikes, the same risk-off pressure that kept Bitcoin range-bound for two months returns. The breakout is real, but the catalyst behind it is still temporary. What matters now is whether April 22 produces a deal or a deadline.
For Strategy, the implications are more immediate. Back in profit with $1.8 billion in unrealised gains and $21.6 billion in STRC shares still available for issuance, Michael Saylor’s Bitcoin buying machine has never been better positioned. The question is no longer whether Strategy can survive a drawdown. It is how much more Bitcoin it will accumulate before the next one.
