Bitcoin Holds Ground Below $80,000 Amid Fed Hike Bets
Bitcoin hovered below $80,000 on Saturday after retreating from a three-month high of over $82,000. The cryptocurrency rose 0.43% to $79,767.6 as of 11:47 ET (15:47 GMT), but its gains were short-lived due to stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data.
The jobs report showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, exceeding economists' expectations. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1%, while annual wage growth slowed slightly to 3.1%. The data revived expectations for a Federal Reserve interest rate hike, with rate futures briefly pricing in around a 65% probability of a hike before easing to roughly 57%-59%.
The jobs report weighed on risk-sensitive assets such as Bitcoin, but continued inflows into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds provided support. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted $174.6 million of net inflows on Sept. 4, extending their inflow streak to three sessions and taking cumulative inflows over the period to about $1.01 billion.
The next major macro tests will be U.S. producer and consumer inflation data, with PPI due Sept. 10 and CPI on Sept. 11, ahead of the Fed's Sept. 15-16 policy meeting.