Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering resistance from sellers during Monday's Asian morning session, halting its ascent towards the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. By Monday morning, Bitcoin had fallen to $77,705, representing a 0.4% decline over 24 hours, after peaking at $79,399 around 09:00 IST and subsequently reversing course throughout the Asian session.
Meanwhile, Ether experienced a 2.4% drop to $2,329, Solana decreased by 1.9% to $86, and BNB saw a 1.2% decline to $630. The rally that propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 dissipated by mid-morning Singapore time.
The upward push 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 talks postponed until after the U.S.
naval blockade is lifted. Asian equities 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. Brent crude trimmed its earlier 2.5% gains to finish 1% higher at $106.50 per barrel.
Bitcoin briefly followed the risk-on trend before diverging. The rejection at $79,399 can be explained by technical factors.
According to Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, the $80,000 mark is where many recent buyers are approaching break-even, which historically leads to selling pressure as traders exit positions that were previously underwater. 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, 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 structural setup can lead to a squeeze if the spot price can maintain its position above the $79,000 level, which has now 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 U.S. companies by market capitalization are also scheduled.
Either the Fed's decision or a strong earnings report could provide the catalyst that Bitcoin 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.