Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering selling pressure during morning hours in Asia on Monday, thereby halting a rally that had positioned the asset for a potential surge to $80,000 for the first time since January. On Monday morning, Bitcoin was valued at $77,705, marking a 0.4% decline over 24 hours after peaking at $79,399 around 09:00 IST, only to sharply reverse during the Asian session.
Meanwhile, Ether declined by 2.4% to $2,329, Solana dropped 1.9% to $86, and BNB decreased by 1.2% to $630. The rally that propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 dissipated by mid-morning Singapore time. This uptrend was sparked by a report from Axios stating 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. In response, Asian equities experienced a surge, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing soaring 6% to set its own record. Brent crude oil pared its initial 2.5% gains to finish 1% higher at $106.50 per barrel. Initially, Bitcoin moved in tandem with the risk-on trend before diverging.
The rejection at $79,399 can be technically explained. According to Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, the $80,000 mark is where many recent buyers are nearing breakeven, a point that historically generates selling pressure as traders exit positions they had been holding at a loss for weeks. Bitcoin has seen a 16% increase in April, putting it on track for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025.
This month, Strategy purchased $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin, as per Bloomberg, marking the firm's largest monthly accumulation in a year. 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. 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, both the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank are set to make policy decisions, and the earnings reports of the four largest U.S. companies by market capitalization are also anticipated. 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 the $79,000 level in eight sessions may come to define the range rather than precede a breakout.