Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering resistance from sellers during Monday's Asian morning session, thereby halting its ascent towards the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. The cryptocurrency was trading at $77,705 on Monday morning, representing a 0.4% decline over the past 24 hours, after having peaked at $79,399 around 09:00 IST and subsequently experiencing a sharp reversal throughout the Asian session. Meanwhile, Ether experienced a 2.4% decline to $2,329, Solana fell by 1.9% to $86, and BNB decreased by 1.2% to $630.

The rally that propelled bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 lost momentum by mid-morning Singapore time. This development was preceded 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. As a result, Asian equities witnessed a surge, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising by 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing experiencing a 6% increase to achieve its own record. Brent crude pared its earlier 2.5% gains to record a 1% increase at $106.50 per barrel.

Initially, bitcoin followed the risk-on trend before diverging from it. 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 approaching breakeven, which historically leads to selling pressure as traders exit 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 accumulated $3.9 billion worth of bitcoin this month, as per Bloomberg, representing 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 maintain their positions, which is the structural setup that can lead to a squeeze if spot prices can hold above the $79,000 level that has now been rejected three times.

This week, the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are scheduled to make policy decisions, while megacap tech earnings will include 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 lacking. Without such a catalyst, the third rejection from $79,000 in eight sessions may begin to define the range rather than precede a breakout.