If Bitcoin breaks $72,000, the mainstream CEX cumulative short liquidation pressure will reach 590 million.

**March 20th Flash Update** Per Hyperinsight monitoring, international oil prices spiked sharply during U.S. stock pre-market trading Wednesday. WTI crude has risen 3.2% cumulatively since 16:00 ET. The CL (WTI crude) contract on Hyperliquid also climbed in tandem, currently trading at $96.4. Whales with multi-million-dollar on-chain positions are all heavily shorting amid this rally—every one is sitting on unrealized losses. The largest on-chain CL position belongs to “US and UK Oil Bears” (0x985), holding a 20x leveraged short position. Its unrealized losses have widened to $1.43 million, with a position size of ~$24 million and an average entry price of $90.42.

**March 20 Update** Bitcoin has again surged past $71,000, per Decrypt, and is now retracing to roughly $70,547. The rebound follows U.S. Treasury Secretary Benson unveiling proposals to tackle soaring oil prices. Benson noted the U.S. is weighing partial sanctions exemptions for Iranian oil tankers already at sea, plus considering releases from strategic petroleum reserves. A day earlier, Brent crude briefly hit $119 a barrel after an attack on Persian Gulf energy facilities—pushing Bitcoin below $70,000 and triggering over $500 million in forced liquidations across crypto markets. Yet market participants remain cautious. Analysts warn oil could jump to $200 a barrel if the Strait of Hormuz—a critical global energy supply chokepoint—stays blocked long-term. GSR research analyst Carlos Guzman says Bitcoin’s price moves are a second-order effect of rising energy costs: Soaring prices may force the Fed to keep rates high longer, and high rates are generally negative for crypto, a

March 20: The Trump administration is weighing occupying or blockading Iran’s Qeshm Island to pressure Iran into reopening the Strait of Hormuz, per Axios.

March 20 — The Shanghai Stock Exchange has accepted Yushu Technology Co., Ltd.’s application for an IPO on the Sci-Tech Innovation Board, with the company targeting 4.202 billion yuan in proceeds. (Golden Finance)

March 20th, CoinGlass noted in a post: “During yesterday’s price drop, Bitcoin open interest (OI) actually rose as prices fell—signaling shorts were clearly piling on positions, creating a fairly clear short entry signal. The trend ultimately came close to $68,750.” Right now, prices are rebounding—but OI has barely moved much, which typically means the bounce isn’t being fueled by new long positions. So the current setup looks more like range trading than a clear trend reversal. Next up to watch: shifts in Bitcoin’s price and OI.

March 20th: Geopolitical conflicts typically boost risk-off sentiment in markets, pushing gold prices higher. For example, gold surged rapidly within half a month after the Russia-Ukraine conflict erupted in February 2022. However, since the latest U.S.-related conflict began, oil and the U.S. dollar have risen sharply while gold has trended continuously downward. Qu Rui, Senior R&D Deputy Director at Orient Securities, noted that the ongoing Middle East conflict and rising oil prices have lifted global inflation expectations—this could reinforce the Federal Reserve’s stance on holding interest rates steady, pressuring precious metals. Adrian Ash, an analyst at BullionVault, said: “Central banks’ future rate cuts will likely be further delayed. Technically, this is bad for gold.” Daniel Ghali, Commodities Strategist at TD Securities, commented: “In the short term, we still see downside risk in the market. Gold has significant room to fall, but it can also hold support from its long-