Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering selling pressure during Monday's Asian morning session, thereby halting its ascent towards the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. On Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading at $77,705, representing a 0.4% decline over the past 24 hours, after having reached $79,399 around 09:00 IST and subsequently experiencing a sharp reversal during 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 surge was triggered by a report from Axios, which stated that Iran had proposed a new plan to the U.S.
to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear discussions postponed until after the U.S. naval blockade is lifted. Asian equities responded positively to the news, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising by 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing surging 6% to set 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 but then diverged from it. 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 breakeven, which historically leads to selling pressure as traders exit positions they had been holding at a loss for weeks.
This month, Bitcoin has seen a 16% increase, 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 reported by Bloomberg, marking the firm's largest monthly accumulation in a year.
The 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 hold above the $79,000 level, which has now been rejected three times.
This week, the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are scheduled to make policy decisions, and the earnings reports of the four largest U.S. companies by market capitalization are also expected.
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 the $79,000 level in eight sessions begins to define the range rather than precede a breakout.