Following a surge to a 12-week high of $79,399, bitcoin experienced a sharp reversal during Monday's Asian morning session, as sellers intervened to curb the rally that had positioned the asset for a potential breakthrough to $80,000 for the first time since January. Bitcoin's price stood at $77,705 on Monday morning, reflecting a 0.4% decline over 24 hours, after having reached $79,399 around 09:00 IST. This downturn was accompanied by declines in other major cryptocurrencies, including Ether, which fell 2.4% to $2,329, Solana, which slipped 1.9% to $86, and BNB, which decreased 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 push higher was triggered 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 sparked a risk-on move in Asian equities, 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. Brent crude also pared earlier gains of 2.5% to end up 1% at $106.50 a barrel.
Bitcoin initially followed the risk-on trend 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 level where many recent buyers are approaching breakeven, historically leading to selling pressure as traders exit positions they had been holding at a loss for weeks.
Despite this, bitcoin remains up 16% in April, on track for its first double-digit monthly gain since May 2025. Strategy has bought $3.9 billion of bitcoin this month, the firm's largest monthly accumulation in a year, according to 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, a setup that could lead to a squeeze if spot prices can hold above the $79,000 level that has now been rejected three times. This week, the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are set to make policy decisions, and megacap tech earnings will include 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 missing, otherwise, the third rejection from $79,000 in eight sessions may start to define the range rather than precede a breakout.