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Bitcoin Rises Above $61,000 as Weak U.S. Jobs Data Cools Fed Rate Hike Fears
Bitcoin and other major cryptocurrencies rallied on Thursday after a surprisingly weak U.S. jobs report eased investor concerns about further interest rate hikes from the Federal Reserve. The digital asset market saw broad gains as the data suggested a potential cooling in the labor market, which could give the central bank reason to pause its monetary tightening cycle.
Disappointing Jobs Data Fuels Crypto Rally
The price of Bitcoin rose 2.2% to $61,416.6 in late-afternoon trading, after briefly topping the $62,000 level earlier in the session, according to data from Investing.com. The upward move provides some relief for the asset, which has been under sustained selling pressure for months.
The immediate catalyst for the rally was the U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for June, which showed a significant slowdown in hiring. The figures complicated the Federal Reserve's assessment of the economy and tempered expectations for its next policy move.
Key figures from the report include:
- June Jobs Added: 57,000
- Economist Forecast: 115,000 (Dow Jones survey)
- May Jobs Added (Revised): 129,000
The unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.2%, but the headline job creation number fell well short of consensus estimates.
AdMarket Impact and Fed Outlook
A softer labor market reduces the pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates aggressively to combat inflation. Lower borrowing costs are generally viewed as supportive for speculative, non-yielding assets like cryptocurrencies, as they decrease the opportunity cost of holding them over government bonds.
Following the data release, investors adjusted their rate expectations. According to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool, traders priced out the probability of a rate increase in September, though a potential move later in the year remains a possibility.
Altcoins Join Rebound
The positive sentiment spread across the broader cryptocurrency market, which has struggled this year amid persistent outflows from U.S. spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and weakening risk appetite. Before Thursday's move, Bitcoin had recorded a decline of more than 30% in the first six months of the year.
Other major digital assets also posted strong gains. Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency, climbed 5.1% to $1,699.19. Elsewhere, XRP gained 2.3%, while Solana and Cardano improved by 4.7% and 5%, respectively.