Bitcoin Retreats From 12-Week Peak as Sellers Intervene at $79,400

Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering selling pressure during morning hours in Asia on Monday, halting a rally that had positioned the asset for a potential push towards $80,000 for the first time since January. As of Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading at $77,705, marking a 0.4% decline over the past 24 hours, following its ascent to $79,399 around 09:00 IST, only to sharply reverse course during the Asian session. Meanwhile, Ether experienced a 2.4% drop to $2,329, Solana fell 1.9% to $86, and BNB decreased 1.2% to $630. The rally that drove Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 dissipated by mid-morning Singapore time. The initial surge was sparked by a report from Axios indicating that Iran had proposed a new plan to the U.S. to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear negotiations postponed until after the U.S. naval blockade is lifted. This development led to a risk-on move 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 pared its earlier 2.5% gains to finish 1% higher at $106.50 per barrel. Bitcoin briefly moved in tandem with the risk-on sentiment before diverging. The rejection at $79,399 can be attributed to a clean technical explanation. According to Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, the $80,000 mark is where many recent buyers are nearing breakeven, historically leading to selling pressure as these traders exit positions they had been underwater on for weeks. Bitcoin has seen a 16% increase in April, putting it on track for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025. Strategy has bought $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin this month, as reported by Bloomberg, marking the firm's largest monthly accumulation in a year. 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 structural setup can lead to a squeeze if spot prices can hold above the $79,000 level, which has now been rejected three times. With the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank set to make policy decisions this week, and megacap tech earnings including the four largest U.S. companies by market cap, either the Fed or a single earnings beat could provide the catalyst the Bitcoin market has been lacking. Without such a catalyst, the third rejection from $79,000 in eight sessions may start to define the range rather than precede a breakout.