The price of Bitcoin, denoted as BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 during overnight trading before encountering significant selling pressure in the Asian morning session on Monday, thereby halting a rally that had positioned the asset for a potential surge to $80,000 for the first time since January. As of 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 Asia session. Meanwhile, the value of Ether decreased by 2.4% to $2,329, Solana fell by 1.9% to $86, and BNB declined by 1.2% to $630.
The upward momentum that had propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 dissipated by mid-morning Singapore time. The catalyst for the brief surge was a report from Axios indicating that Iran had proposed a new initiative to the U.S. aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with nuclear negotiations postponed until after the U.S. naval blockade is lifted.
This development led to a rally in Asian equities, 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 achieve its own record. Brent crude oil prices also increased by 1% to $106.50 per barrel, after having initially gained 2.5%. Bitcoin initially followed the risk-on trend but then diverged. 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, a level that historically generates selling pressure as traders exit positions they had been holding at a loss for weeks. Bitcoin has experienced a 16% increase in April, positioning it for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025. Strategy has acquired $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin this month, according to Bloomberg, representing 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 maintain positions, a structural setup that could lead to a squeeze if the spot price 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 announce 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 may define the range rather than precede a breakout.