SEC Proposal Boosts Bitcoin Amid Soft US Economic Data

Bitcoin's price remained below $85,000 on Friday after briefly reaching an intraday high of $87,219. The cryptocurrency's value has been boosted by a new proposal from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that would allow investment advisers and funds to directly hold certain digital assets when a qualified third-party custodian is unavailable.

The SEC proposal aims to provide another route for funds and advisers to hold such assets under federal securities rules, addressing existing difficulties in traditional custody frameworks. The proposal will enter a 60-day public comment period following its publication in the Federal Register.

Bitcoin's price increase also received some support from softer U.S. economic data, with September nonfarm payrolls rising by 29,000, below expectations of 90,000. This led to declines in Treasury yields and the dollar as markets reassessed the outlook for Federal Reserve interest rates.