Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 during overnight trading before encountering a wall of sellers in the Asian morning session on Monday, thereby halting its rally that had positioned the asset for a potential surge to $80,000 for the first time since January. On Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading at $77,705, representing a 0.4% decline over 24 hours, after it had climbed to $79,399 around 09:00 IST and then sharply reversed course throughout the Asian session. Meanwhile, Ether experienced a 2.4% decline to $2,329, Solana dropped 1.9% to $86, and BNB decreased by 1.2% to $630. The rally that propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 began to unwind by mid-morning Singapore time.
The upward push was triggered by a report from Axios indicating that Iran had presented a new proposal to the U.S. aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear talks postponed until after the U.S. naval blockade is lifted.
Asian equities responded positively to the news, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing surging 6% to set its own record. Brent crude initially gained 2.5% but later pared its gains to 1% at $106.50 a barrel. Bitcoin briefly moved in tandem with the risk-on momentum before deviating from it. The rejection at $79,399 can be explained technically.
According to Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, the $80,000 mark is where many recent buyers are approaching break-even, a point that historically generates selling pressure as traders exit positions they had been holding at a loss 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 purchased $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin this month, as per 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% 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 level above $79,000, a level that has now been rejected three times. This week, both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are set to make policy decisions, and the earnings reports of the four largest U.S.
companies by market capitalization are also scheduled. 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.