Amidst naval blockades and tense diplomacy in the Middle East, the crypto market showed a clear split between big buyers and small sellers last week. While global energy markets worried about the failed peace talks in Islamabad, a major shift occurred as Saylor & Bitmine buy Bitcoin and Ethereum in record numbers.
These large firms bought nearly $1.2 billion in crypto assets, even as Bitcoin miners and short-sellers rushed to close their positions during a messy $530 million liquidation event. The market’s period of intense volatility has highlighted a growing trend where institutional giants treat digital assets as a primary treasury reserve, regardless of the immediate geopolitical risks unfolding in the Strait of Hormuz.
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Michael Saylor Buys $1B Bitcoin
Despite sitting on unrealized losses totaling $14.46 billion in the first quarter of 2026, Strategy refused to blink in the face of macroeconomic uncertainty. Between April 6 and April 12, the firm scooped up 13,927 Bitcoin at an average price of $71,902 per coin. By funding this acquisition through the sale of 10 million Stretch (STRC) perpetual preferred equity shares, the company showed how it uses the stock market to bolster a digital balance sheet.
Michael Saylor Buys $1B Bitcoin
As of now, Strategy holds an astonishing 780,897 BTC, leaving the firm just 19,103 coins shy of its much-anticipated 800,000 BTC target. Across the industry, analysts view Saylor’s persistence as a signal of ultimate conviction. Historically, whenever the Chairman teases a purchase on social media, the market anticipates a renewed floor for Bitcoin’s price.
During this latest window, Strategy notably acquired its coins below its overall average cost basis of $75,577, effectively “averaging down” while the rest of the world watched the Strait of Hormuz with bated breath. The giant’s aggressive strategy contrasts sharply with other public companies; for instance, Japan’s Metaplanet added 5,075 BTC during the same period, while most other treasury holders remained stagnant or sold off assets.
Bitmine Pushes for Ethereum Dominance
Equally active in its expansion, Bitmine Immersion Technologies reported a massive intake of 71,524 ETH (worth about $170 million) over the past seven days.
Now commanding approximately 4.04% of the total ETH supply, which is currently worth over $10 billion, the company is rapidly approaching its stated goal of owning 5% of all tokens in circulation. Unlike its peers who remain sidelined due to price volatility, Bitmine leveraged its recent uplisting to the New York Stock Exchange to secure institutional capital for this expansion.
Bitmine Pushes for Ethereum Dominance
Through its in-house MAVAN platform, Bitmine currently stakes approximately 3.33 million ETH. Based on current network yields, these staked assets generate roughly $310 million in annual rewards. Chairman Tom Lee attributed this aggressive stance to the rising demand for tokenization on Wall Street and the increasing reliance of AI systems on public blockchain infrastructure.
While Bitmine and Strategy led the buying charge, Bitcoin miners like MARA Holdings and Riot Platforms, on the other hand, took the opposite route, offloading over 17,000 BTC combined to navigate the shifting economic tides.
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Geopolitics Triggers $530M Short Squeeze
Geopolitics acted as the primary catalyst for market turbulence throughout the week. Early Monday, President Donald Trump’s administration initiated a naval blockade of Iranian ports, a move designed to force Tehran back to the negotiating table. As a result, Bitcoin surged toward a four-week high of $75,000 as traders bet on a frantic diplomatic resolution from an embattled Iranian leadership.
Because so many traders had positioned themselves for a market crash following the Islamabad stalemate, this sudden price rally triggered a violent short squeeze. According to CoinGlass data, the market liquidated 177,000 traders for a total of $530 million within 24 hours.
Geopolitics Triggers $530M Short Squeeze
Remarkably, leveraged short positions in Bitcoin and Ether accounted for 80% of these losses. In the heat of the rally, “Bull Theory,” a prominent analyst on X, noted that these liquidations added more than $100 billion to the total crypto market capitalization in just a few hours.
BREAKING: Bitcoin jumped +$4,000 in the past 12 hours and hit a high of $74,500, while ETH surged +7.50%, hitting $2,340.
Over $300,000,000 in crypto shorts were liquidated during this move.
Over $100 BILLION has been added to the crypto market today. pic.twitter.com/opSfVYCAIb
— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) April 13, 2026
Moreover, according to Valerius Labs, this move is not a true breakout but rather a forced rally driven by short-sellers hitting a wall of supply. For the experts at the lab, serious buyers typically only enter the market when the price holds above the 200-day moving average, rather than sitting 15% below it as it does now.
Even so, investors view crypto as a high-beta play on geopolitical stability. When news of a potential ceasefire surfaced earlier in the week, Bitcoin reclaimed $70,000 almost instantly. Jeff Mei, COO at BTSE, suggested that Iran’s economic dependence on oil exports makes a deal inevitable, even if the current rhetoric remains hostile.
