Bitcoin, with the symbol BTC, reached a 12-week high of $79,399 during overnight trading before encountering a wave of sellers in the Asian morning session on Monday, thereby stifling a rally that had positioned the asset for a potential surge to $80,000 for the first time since January. By Monday morning, Bitcoin was trading at $77,705, marking a 0.4% decline over the previous 24 hours, after it had climbed to $79,399 around 09:00 IST and then sharply reversed course throughout the Asian session.
Meanwhile, Ether experienced a 2.4% decline to $2,329, Solana dropped 1.9% to $86, and BNB fell 1.2% to $630. The bitcoin rally, which had propelled the asset to its highest level since January 31, began to unwind by mid-morning Singapore time.
The upward push was initially driven 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. Brent crude oil pared its earlier gains of 2.5% to end up 1% at $106.50 per barrel. Bitcoin initially followed the risk-on trend but then diverged.
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 approaching break-even, a level 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. Strategy has purchased $3.9 billion worth of bitcoin this month, 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%, as per Coinglass, indicating that shorts are still paying longs to maintain their 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. The Federal Reserve and European Central Bank are set to make policy decisions this week, and the earnings reports of the four largest U.S.
companies by market capitalization are also due. Either the Fed's decision or a strong earnings report could provide the catalyst that the bitcoin market has been lacking.
Without such a catalyst, the third rejection from the $79,000 level in eight sessions may start to define the range rather than precede a breakout.