Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering a selling wall during Monday's Asian morning session, halting its ascent towards the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. The asset's value was $78,318.43, with a 0.4% decline over 24 hours after peaking at $79,399 around 09:00 IST and subsequently reversing during the Asia session. Other cryptocurrencies also experienced declines, with Ether dropping 2.4% to $2,329, Solana falling 1.9% to $86, and BNB decreasing 1.2% to $630.

The rally that pushed 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 stating 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 its own record. Brent crude pared its earlier 2.5% gains to a 1% increase at $106.50 a barrel. Bitcoin initially followed the risk-on move but then diverged.

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 breakeven, which historically leads to selling pressure as traders exit positions they held at a loss for weeks. Bitcoin has seen a 16% increase in April, on track for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025.

Strategy bought $3.9 billion of bitcoin this month, the firm's 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% per Coinglass, indicating that shorts are still paying longs to hold positions, setting up a potential squeeze if spot prices can hold above the $79,000 level that has now been rejected three times.

The Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are set to make policy decisions this week, and megacap tech earnings, including the four largest U.S. companies by market cap, are also scheduled. Either the Fed or a single earnings beat could provide the catalyst the bitcoin market has been missing.

Without one, the third rejection from $79,000 in eight sessions begins to define the range rather than precede the breakout.