Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering resistance from sellers during morning hours in Asia on Monday, 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, reflecting a 0.4% decline over the past 24 hours after hitting $79,399 around 09:00 IST and subsequently reversing its course throughout the Asian session.

Meanwhile, Ether experienced a 2.4% drop to $2,329, Solana fell 1.9% to $86, and BNB declined 1.2% to $630. The rally that propelled bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 lost momentum by mid-morning in Singapore. This development was triggered 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 negotiations postponed until after the U.S. naval blockade is lifted.

As a result, Asian equities saw an uptrend, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing surging 6% 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 deviating 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 were underwater on 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. The 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 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. This week, the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are set to make policy decisions, and the earnings of megacap tech companies, including the four largest U.S. companies by market cap, are also scheduled.

Either the Fed's decision 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 define the range rather than precede a breakout.