Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 before encountering a wave of selling 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, following a sharp reversal from $79,399 around 09:00 IST. This decline was accompanied by a 2.4% drop in Ether to $2,329, a 1.9% fall in Solana to $86, and a 1.2% decrease in BNB to $630.

By mid-morning Singapore time, the rally that propelled Bitcoin to its highest level since January 31 had unwound. The initial push upwards was reportedly driven by a proposal from Iran to the U.S.

regarding the reopening of 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 set its own record. Meanwhile, Brent crude pared its earlier 2.5% gains to end up 1% at $106.50 per barrel. Bitcoin briefly moved in tandem with the risk-on sentiment before diverging.

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 a point where many recent buyers are approaching break-even, which historically leads to selling pressure as traders exit positions they have been holding at a loss for weeks. Despite this, Bitcoin is on track for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025, with a 16% increase in April.

Strategy has bought $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%, indicating that shorts are still paying longs to hold positions. This setup could lead to a squeeze if the spot price can hold above the $79,000 level, which has been rejected three times.

With the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank set to make policy decisions this week, and the upcoming earnings reports of 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.