Crypto Reporter
Shalini Nagarajan
Crypto Reporter
Shalini Nagarajan
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Bitcoin tumbled 7% to about $85,000 on Friday as Asian markets opened weaker, with regional stocks joining a global sell-off after closely watched US jobs data failed to settle the debate on when the Federal Reserve might cut interest rates.
Traders moved quickly to dump risk assets again even after Nvidia’s latest earnings impressed, suggesting that macro jitters now outweigh individual tech stories.
Market snapshot
- Bitcoin: $86,156, down 6.9%
- Ether: $2,819, down 7.1%
- XRP: $1.99, down 7.1%
- Total crypto market cap: $3.03 trillion, down 6%
Fed Rate Cut Odds Rise, But Investors Sell Risk As Jobs Data Sends Mixed Signals
Wall Street had already set a negative tone overnight, with renewed anxiety over stretched valuations sending major indexes sharply lower and reviving memories of earlier tariff shocks under President Donald Trump.
The latest employment figures showed the US economy added far more jobs than economists expected in September. At the same time, the unemployment rate ticked higher and earlier months were revised down, leaving a mixed picture for the Fed as officials weigh whether to lower rates at the December meeting.
Treasury yields slipped after the data as futures markets shifted to price about a 40% chance of a December rate cut, up from 30% a day earlier. Even so, with the next payrolls release scheduled only after the Fed meets, many investors remained reluctant to fully embrace the idea of imminent easing and chose instead to reduce exposure.
Regional Stocks Sink As Crypto Mirrors Growing Fears Over Fed Tightening
Asia picked up that cautious mood. MSCI’s broad index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan fell around 1.8% on Friday, taking its weekly loss to roughly 3%, the steepest since early April.
Japan’s Nikkei dropped 1.8% on the day and was down about 2.8% for the week, while Taiwan slid 2.7% and South Korea fell more than 3%. Chinese blue chips weakened and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index also traded lower.
Crypto markets moved in step with that risk reset. Nic Puckrin, crypto analyst and co-founder of The Coin Bureau, said: “If macroeconomic jitters turn into full-blown panic and the sell-off intensifies, there is strong resistance around $75,000, which marks the April 2025 low. A move higher is more likely in the short term, though, given the current market dynamics.”
Federal Reserve officials speaking overnight sounded cautious on inflation and financial stability. Some warned about the possibility of sharp asset price declines if conditions tighten too quickly.
Execs Frame Bitcoin’s Drop As A Healthy Reset Rather Than A Breakdown
Against that backdrop, some in the digital asset industry see Bitcoin’s slide as a reset rather than a breakdown. Gracy Chen, chief executive at Bitget, said Bitcoin’s drop to the $87,000 mark looks more like a healthy market correction than the start of a prolonged downturn.
She said she does not expect a cascading decline from here, arguing that market participants are more diversified, leverage is more controlled and the ecosystem is stronger than in past cycles.
Chen expects Bitcoin to stabilize and gradually recover, with a possible move back toward $95,000 by late November and a push toward 105,000 dollars into December.
“This is a period of consolidation, not capitulation, and it sets the stage for more sustainable growth ahead,” she said, as traders in Asia weighed whether to fade the latest dip or step aside until the macro picture clears.
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