(April 27): Bitcoin weakened on Monday after briefly reaching a 12-week high, as an early boost from reports of a new Iranian proposal on the Strait of Hormuz gave way to broader caution across risk assets.
The original cryptocurrency fell as much as 0.9%, trading around US$77,600 at 9am in London. Earlier in Asian trading, it hit US$79,488, its highest level since Jan 31 — the last time it was above US$80,000. A report from Axios that Iran had proposed a new deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz raised investor sentiment, although crypto and equities markets started paring gains around 12:30 p.m. in Singapore.
Since the war between the US and Iran broke out at the end of February, traffic through the strait, a critical trade waterway, has at times come nearly to a halt. News of start-and-stop negotiations for ending the war has driven swings in oil and risk assets.
“The risks are real. US-Iran peace deal odds have collapsed, a macro overhang that could reprice risk assets broadly,” said Rachael Lucas, an analyst at BTC Markets. “US$80,000 is where many recent buyers are approaching breakeven, which is typically where selling pressure emerges as they rotate out of their positions.”
Jeff Ko, chief analyst at CoinEx, said technical resistance above US$79,000 made it a “natural spot for profit taking". Investors are now positioning for interest rate decisions from the Federal Reserve and European Central Bank this week, he added.
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Bitcoin had been grinding back toward the US$80,000 level in recent sessions as traders covered short positions and institutional demand improved. The token is up 16% so far in April, putting it on pace for its first monthly double-digit gain since May 2025. The Michael Saylor-led Bitcoin accumulator Strategy Inc. has bought US$3.9 billion worth of the token so far this month, the most in a year, according to company data compiled by Bloomberg.
US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen a notable recovery in demand this month. Net inflows in April have reached roughly US$2.5 billion, on pace to double March’s total. Institutional buyers returned to the funds in March after four consecutive months of net outflows.
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