Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering a wave of selling during the Asian morning session on Monday, which halted its ascent towards the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was valued at $77,705, representing a 0.4% decline over the past 24 hours, following its sharp reversal during the Asia session.
Other major cryptocurrencies also experienced declines, with Ether dropping 2.4% to $2,329, Solana falling 1.9% to $86, and BNB decreasing 1.2% to $630. The rally that propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 lost momentum by mid-morning in Singapore.
The catalyst for the initial surge was a report from Axios indicating that Iran had proposed a new plan to the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear talks postponed until after the U.S. naval blockade is lifted.
This news sparked a rally in Asian equities, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing surging 6% to a new record. Brent crude also pared its earlier gains, ending up 1% at $106.50 a barrel. Initially, Bitcoin followed the risk-on sentiment but later deviated from this trend.
According to Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, the rejection at $79,399 can be attributed to the fact that $80,000 is a critical level where many recent buyers are approaching breakeven, historically leading to selling pressure as traders exit positions that were previously underwater. Despite this, Bitcoin has seen a 16% increase in April, positioning it for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025.
Notably, strategy bought $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin this month, the largest monthly accumulation in a year, as per Bloomberg. Funding rates for perpetual futures across major exchanges remain negative on a 7-day basis, at -0.13% per Coinglass, indicating that shorts are still paying longs to hold positions. This setup can lead to a squeeze if the spot price can hold above the $79,000 level, which has now been rejected three times. This week, the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are set to make policy decisions, and the earnings of the four largest U.S.
tech companies by market cap will be announced. Either the Fed's decision or a strong earnings report could provide the necessary catalyst for Bitcoin's price movement, which has been lacking. Without such a catalyst, the repeated rejection from the $79,000 level may define the current range rather than precede a breakout.