Bitcoin held steady near $75,800 on Friday after U.S. labor data showed employers added 165,000 jobs in October, nearly triple the 59,000 economists had expected. The stronger-than-anticipated report reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates at its next meeting, supporting the dollar and pressuring risk assets including equities.
Spot bitcoin briefly pushed above $76,100 before settling around $75,500 to $75,800, according to data from Bitcoin Magazine Pro and Yahoo Finance. The cryptocurrency’s market capitalization stood at approximately $1.52 trillion, with about $48 billion in trading volume over the previous 24 hours.
Labor Market Strength Surprises Markets
The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate edged down to 4.1% from 4.2%, beating forecasts that predicted it would hold steady. Average hourly earnings rose 0.4% on the month and 3.1% year over year, both figures coming in ahead of estimates cited by CNBC.
Previous months also saw significant upward revisions. August payrolls were revised higher by 53,000 to 186,000, while September figures increased by 31,000 to 60,000. Professional and business services led October hiring with 70,000 new jobs, followed by health care with 42,000 and transportation and warehousing with 25,000. Manufacturing added 19,000 positions.
Rate Hike Odds Rise
The robust jobs data shifted market pricing for monetary policy. CME FedWatch data indicated a roughly 79% probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the Federal Reserve’s December 9 meeting, up from about 70% prior to the release. Higher interest rates typically strengthen the U.S. dollar and reduce the appeal of non-yielding assets like bitcoin, though the cryptocurrency has shown resilience in recent sessions.
Equities Slide and Crypto Liquidations
Traditional markets reacted sharply to the news. The Nasdaq Composite fell about 5.5%, entering correction territory as it dropped more than 10% below its recent high. The S&P 500 lost approximately 4.4%, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed roughly 1,800 points, or 3.4%. The so-called Magnificent Seven tech stocks erased more than $1 trillion in combined market value, with Nvidia alone losing over 9% and wiping out roughly $440 billion in capitalization.
In the crypto derivatives market, more than $1 billion in positions were liquidated over 24 hours, mostly long bets established during a prior short-squeeze rally that had lifted bitcoin near $80,000. U.S. spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded $430.2 million in net outflows on Thursday, led by redemptions from Fidelity’s FBTC and BlackRock’s IBIT, bringing week-to-date outflows to about $870 million.
