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 resistance and dropping back to $77,356.09. The cryptocurrency experienced a decline during morning hours in Asia on Monday, following a brief surge that had set it up for a potential run to $80,000, a level not seen since January. On Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading at $77,705, representing a 0.4% decrease over the past 24 hours. This followed a sharp reversal during the Asian session, after it had peaked at $79,399 around 09:00 IST. Other cryptocurrencies, such as Ether, Solana, and BNB, also experienced declines, with Ether slipping 2.4% to $2,329, Solana falling 1.9% to $86, and BNB declining 1.2% to $630. The rally that had propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 lost momentum by mid-morning Singapore time. The initial push higher was attributed to 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 delayed until after the U.S. naval blockade is lifted. This development led to a surge in Asian equities, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing experiencing a 6% increase to its own record. However, Bitcoin's brief alignment with this risk-on move was short-lived, as it subsequently peeled away. The rejection at $79,399 can be explained by the fact that $80,000 is a level where many recent buyers are approaching breakeven, which historically leads to selling pressure as traders rotate out of positions they had been holding at a loss for weeks. Bitcoin has experienced 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, according to Bloomberg, marking the firm's largest monthly accumulation in a year. Funding rates on 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 could lead to a squeeze if the spot price 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 that the Bitcoin market has been missing. Without such a catalyst, the third rejection from $79,000 in eight sessions may define the range rather than precede a breakout.