Bitcoin Holds Near $75,000 After October Jobs Beat

U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in October, nearly three times the 59,000 economists had anticipated, the Labor Department reported Friday. According to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data, bitcoin briefly traded above $76,100 before retreating to around $75,500.

Unemployment dipped to 4.1% from 4.2%, topping the Dow Jones projection of no change. Hourly earnings increased by 0.4% month-over-month and 3.1% year-over-year, exceeding expectations, according to CNBC.

Earlier months also saw upward revisions. August's payroll figure was revised to 186,000, a gain of 53,000, while September was raised to 60,000 following a 31,000 increase, making the combined two-month total 84,000 higher than initially stated.

This jobs report comes as the market is still processing Thursday's selloff led by the Nasdaq. Bitcoin had stayed near $76,000 heading into that session's close, dropped to around $75,200 late in the day, then bounced back to the mid-$75,000 range overnight ahead of the 8:30 a.m. ET release. Following the data, spot bitcoin traded at roughly $75,800, with a market capitalization of about $1.52 trillion and trading volume of approximately $48 billion over the prior 24 hours, according to Yahoo Finance.

Bitcoin price reaction

Bitcoin's initial response was a rapid climb above $76,100, followed by a drop to around $75,600, and then a recovery to about $75,800. The daily range has spanned from approximately $75,240 to $76,280, leaving the market largely flat compared to before the data release, despite adjustments in rate futures.

This subdued outcome aligns with the typical reaction following major economic data. The bulk of this week's decline in bitcoin was due to risk aversion in equities rather than the jobs report itself, and strong payrolls figures primarily confirm the direction the Federal Reserve had already anticipated.

Following the release, CME FedWatch data indicated approximately a 79% probability of a 25-basis-point rate hike at the December 9 meeting, up from about 70% prior to the data. The next jobs report is scheduled for December 4, five days ahead of the Fed decision, and the current signal mirrors that of the previous Fed hold: solid hiring and rising wages reduce the likelihood of another pause.

Tech rout aftermath and ETF outflows

Thursday's trading session continues to provide a floor for bitcoin. The Nasdaq Composite declined approximately 5.5%, entering correction territory (more than 10% below its recent peak), while the S&P 500 fell about 4.4% and the Dow dropped roughly 1,800 points, or 3.4%, according to CNBC.

The Magnificent Seven stocks lost over $1 trillion in combined market capitalization. Nvidia alone shed more than 9%, eliminating approximately $440 billion in value, as investors anticipated a slower pace of AI data-center construction following the Democratic midterm election gains.

For most of this year, bitcoin has moved in tandem with that AI-focused group, so a Nasdaq correction has dragged bitcoin down even when on-chain metrics appeared stable. Miners that have rented out power and space to AI clients are exposed to both sectors.

ETF flows mirrored the risk-averse sentiment. On Thursday, U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs recorded $430.2 million in net outflows, with approximately $200 million coming from Fidelity's FBTC and around $105 million from BlackRock's IBIT. This brought total redemptions for the week through Thursday to about $870 million.

Leveraged positions kept bitcoin under pressure overnight. Over $1 billion in cryptocurrency positions were liquidated in a 24-hour period, mainly long bets placed during Wednesday's short-squeeze rally that pushed bitcoin close to $80,000.

What comes next for bitcoin price

Professional and business services added 70,000 positions in October, leading job creation, followed by health care with 42,000, and transportation and warehousing with 25,000. Manufacturing increased by 19,000. This breadth challenges the recent trend where health care accounted for the majority of gains.

Policy uncertainty remains as well. House Democrats are currently working on their own market structure legislation before assuming committee control in January, a factor that has weighed on crypto stocks since the midterm election results affected bitcoin.

Traders are monitoring whether bitcoin can hold the mid-$75,000 area that has supported prices on election night and on multiple occasions since August. A clear breach would bring September's low back into view following a week that wiped out most of the post-election rally, now compounded by a stronger labor market and increased probability of a rate hike.

As of this writing, bitcoin is trading around $75,500.