Bitcoin reached a 12-week high of $79,399 during overnight trading before encountering a wave of selling activity in the Asian morning session on Monday, halting a rally that had positioned the asset for a potential surge to $80,000 for the first time since January. By Monday morning, Bitcoin had declined to $77,705, representing a 0.4% decrease over 24 hours, after briefly touching $79,399 around 09:00 IST. This downturn followed a sharp reversal during the Asia session.
Meanwhile, 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 lost momentum by mid-morning Singapore time.
The initial upward push was sparked 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 talks postponed 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 experiencing a 6% increase to a new record.
Brent crude also pared its earlier 2.5% gains, ultimately rising 1% to $106.50 per barrel. Bitcoin initially followed the risk-on trend but then diverged. According to Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets, the rejection at $79,399 can be technically explained by the fact that $80,000 is the point at which many recent buyers are approaching breakeven, historically resulting in selling pressure as these traders exit positions that were previously underwater. Despite this, 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, marking the firm's largest monthly accumulation in a year, as reported by Bloomberg. 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 could lead to a squeeze if the spot price can maintain its position above the $79,000 level, which has now been rejected three times. With the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank set to make policy decisions this week, and megacap tech earnings including the four largest U.S.
companies by market cap, either the Fed 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 start to define the range rather than precede a breakout.