Bitcoin Tanks Below $80K as Jobs Report Exceeds Expectations
Bitcoin's price dropped below $80,000 on Saturday after a stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report for August. Nonfarm payrolls rose 162,000 in August, more than triple the 53,000 economists had forecasted. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. Bitcoin ETF inflows plummeted 76% to $174.60 million on Friday from $730.9 million on Thursday.
Analysts say that the jobs data alone may not be enough to significantly move current rate-hike pricing unless payroll growth is substantially below forecasts. The September 11 Consumer Price Index (CPI) report is seen as a more definitive signal for the Fed's rate path. If inflation remains sticky even as the labor market becomes softer, higher rates could keep funding costs and pressure risk-asset valuations, including crypto.
Trader Garrett Jin said that Bitcoin came under pressure and was 'rejected brutally' at $82,500. He warns that if Bitcoin's price rises, more people who bought at higher prices could use it as an opportunity to sell, in turn creating additional selling pressure. With the markets having digested the jobs report, the next scheduled catalysts likely to affect the crypto market's direction into mid-September are the September 11 CPI release and the subsequent Fed rate decision.
The broader market also showed signs of a similar pause outside of Bitcoin. Ethereum was trading in the red, with total ETH spot ETF falling to $26.46 million on Friday from $141.39 million on Thursday, marking an 81% drop.