Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering a wall of sellers during the Asian morning session on Monday, thereby halting its ascent towards the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. As of Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading at $77,705, marking a 0.4% decline over the past 24 hours. This followed a sharp increase to $79,399 around 09:00 IST, which was subsequently reversed. 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 had propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 began to unwind by mid-morning Singapore time. The upward push was attributed to 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 delayed until after the U.S.

naval blockade is lifted. This development led to a surge in Asian equities, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing increasing 6% to its own record.

Meanwhile, Brent crude pared its earlier 2.5% gains to close 1% higher at $106.50 per barrel. Initially, Bitcoin traded in tandem with the risk-on move but later diverged.

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 nearing breakeven, which historically leads to selling pressure as traders exit positions they had been holding at a loss for weeks. Despite this, Bitcoin has experienced 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, marking 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 hold positions.

This structural setup could lead to a squeeze if the spot price can hold 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 cap will be released. Either the Fed's decision or a single earnings beat could provide the catalyst 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.