Bitcoin, with the ticker symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 during overnight trading before encountering resistance from sellers in the Asian morning session on Monday, thereby halting its ascent towards the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was valued at $77,705, reflecting a 0.4% decline over the past 24 hours. This downturn occurred after the cryptocurrency had surged to $79,399 around 09:00 IST, only to sharply reverse course throughout the Asian session. Concurrently, the value of Ether decreased by 2.4% to $2,329, while Solana and BNB experienced declines of 1.9% and 1.2%, respectively, to $86 and $630.
The rally that propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 lost momentum by mid-morning in Singapore. The initial upward push was attributed to a report from Axios indicating that Iran had proposed a new initiative to the U.S.
aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear discussions postponed until after the U.S. naval blockade is lifted. This development triggered a positive response in Asian equities, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising by 1.7% and the emerging markets index reaching a record high.
Furthermore, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing saw its stock surge by 6% to an all-time high. Meanwhile, Brent crude oil prices pared their earlier gains of 2.5% to record a 1% increase at $106.50 per barrel. Initially, Bitcoin followed the risk-on trend but subsequently deviated from it.
The rejection at $79,399 can be explained by technical factors. According to Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, the $80,000 mark is where many recent buyers are approaching break-even, which historically leads to selling pressure as traders exit positions that were previously unprofitable.
Bitcoin has experienced a 16% increase in April, positioning it for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025. Additionally, strategy bought $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin this month, as reported by Bloomberg, marking the firm's largest monthly accumulation in a year. The funding rates for perpetual futures across major exchanges remain negative on a seven-day basis, at -0.13% according to Coinglass, indicating that shorts are still paying longs to hold positions.
This structural setup can lead to a squeeze if the spot price can maintain its position above the recent breakeven cluster. This week, the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are scheduled to make policy decisions, and the earnings reports of the four largest U.S. companies by market capitalization are also anticipated. Either the Fed's decision or a strong earnings report could provide the catalyst that the Bitcoin market has been lacking.
Without such a catalyst, the third rejection from the $79,000 level in eight sessions may define the range rather than precede a breakout.