Story
Bitcoin Rises Above $61,000 as Weak U.S. Jobs Data Cools Fed Rate Hike Bets
Summary
The leading cryptocurrency gained after a U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed significantly slower job growth than expected, leading investors to scale back bets on a near-term Federal Reserve interest rate increase.
Bitcoin rose on Thursday, briefly surpassing the $62,000 mark, as a surprisingly weak U.S. labor market report tempered expectations for further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The leading cryptocurrency was last trading up 2.2% at $61,416.6, according to Investing.com data, providing a reprieve from a recent, prolonged selloff.
U.S. Job Growth Slows Sharply
The catalyst for the market move was the latest nonfarm payrolls report, which showed the U.S. economy added just 57,000 jobs in June. This figure fell significantly short of the 115,000 jobs economists had forecast and represented a marked deceleration from the revised 129,000 jobs added in May.
The data suggests a cooling in the labor market that complicates the Federal Reserve's assessment of the economy's resilience. The unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.2%, the report showed.
Market Reaction and Fed Outlook
The softer jobs numbers reduce immediate pressure on the Fed to raise interest rates, a policy action that typically dampens investor appetite for riskier assets. Lower borrowing costs are generally seen as a positive for speculative, non-yielding assets like cryptocurrencies.
AdFollowing the data release, traders in the futures market priced out the probability of a rate increase in September, according to the CME Group's FedWatch tool. However, the tool still indicates market odds of a potential rate move in October.
Relief Rally in Broader Crypto Market
Thursday's gains come against a difficult backdrop for the digital asset market, which has been under pressure from persistent outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and a broader weakening of risk appetite. Bitcoin recorded a decline of more than 30% in the first six months of 2026.
Other major cryptocurrencies also rallied on the news:
- Ethereum (ETH) climbed 5.1% to $1,699.19.
- Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) rose 4.7% and 5%, respectively.
- XRP gained 2.3% to $1.0820.