Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering a wave of selling during Monday's Asian morning session, which halted its ascent towards the $80,000 mark for the first time since January. By Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading at $77,705, marking a 0.4% decline over the past 24 hours. This followed a sharp climb to $79,399 around 09:00 IST, only to reverse course during the Asia session.

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 surge 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. Asian equities responded positively, with the MSCI Asia Pacific Index rising 1.7%, the emerging markets index reaching a record high, and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing surging 6% to a new record.

Meanwhile, Brent crude pared its earlier 2.5% gains to finish up 1% at $106.50 a barrel. Bitcoin initially followed 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 level 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.

Despite this, Bitcoin is on track for a 16% gain in April, its first double-digit monthly increase since May 2025. Strategy has purchased $3.9 billion worth of Bitcoin this month, the largest monthly accumulation in a year, as per Bloomberg. 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 setup can lead to a squeeze if spot prices can hold 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 define the range rather than precede a breakout.