Bitcoin reached a 12-week peak of $79,399 before encountering resistance from sellers during Asian morning trading on Monday, halting its ascent toward $80,000 for the first time since January. By Monday morning, Bitcoin had dropped to $77,705, marking a 0.4% decline over 24 hours, after briefly touching $79,399 around 09:00 IST. The value of other cryptocurrencies also fell, with Ether declining 2.4% to $2,329, Solana dropping 1.9% to $86, and BNB slipping 1.2% to $630.
The rally, which propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31, lost momentum by mid-morning Singapore time. The upward push was triggered by a report from Axios that Iran had proposed a new plan to the US to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear talks postponed until after the US naval blockade is lifted. Asian stocks responded positively, 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. Meanwhile, Brent crude pared its earlier 2.5% gains to end up 1% at $106.50 a barrel.
Bitcoin initially followed the risk-on trend before diverging. According to Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, the rejection at $79,399 can be explained by the fact that $80,000 is a level where many recent buyers are approaching break-even, which historically leads to selling pressure as traders exit positions they held at a loss for weeks.
Despite this, Bitcoin has gained 16% in April and is on track for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025. Strategy has purchased $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin this month, its largest monthly accumulation in a year, according to Bloomberg. Funding rates on perpetual futures across major exchanges remain negative on a 7-day basis at -0.13%, indicating that shorts are still paying longs to hold positions. This setup could lead to a squeeze if the spot price can hold above the $79,000 level, which has been rejected three times.
The Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are set to make policy decisions this week, and the earnings of the four largest US companies by market capitalization are also due. Either the Fed's decision or a strong earnings report could provide the catalyst needed to drive Bitcoin's price higher. Without such a catalyst, the repeated rejection from $79,000 may define the trading range rather than precede a breakout.