- Bitcoin fell below $54,000 in early Friday trading as per data from CMC.
- The cryptocurrency saw its worst weekly percentage drop since FTX’s collapse in 2022.
Investors and traders are putting their faith on Friday’s U.S. employment data to contain the unstoppable fall in bitcoin (BTC) prices.
Bitcoin fell below $54,000 in early Friday trading after news spread that the now-defunct Mt. Gox exchange had transferred $2.6 billion worth of bitcoin, purportedly to pay off creditors. Muted response from bitcoin followed Mt. Gox’s later announcement that it had started repaying consumers.
The cryptocurrency saw its worst weekly percentage drop since FTX’s collapse in November 2022—more than 13%, according to statistics from CMC.
All Eyes on Upcoming Data Release
On Friday at 12:30 UTC (08:00 UTC), the nonfarm payrolls (NFP) data for June is scheduled to be released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Estimates from experts polled by FactSet indicate that the economy created 190,000 jobs in June, down significantly from 272,000 in May, with the unemployment rate remaining unchanged at 4%.
The average hourly wages growth rate is expected to moderate to 0.3% in June from 0.4% in May, resulting in a 3.9% year-on-year increase, down from 4.1% in May. This might be good news for the inflation rate.
The timing and amount of Fed rate cuts are the main worries of macro traders, who have been dabbling in the BTC market since 2020. According to the CME’s FedWatch tool, traders have practically priced in two rate cuts for this year since last Friday’s disappointing U.S. PCE inflation data.
If Friday’s employment report reveals weaker-than-expected job growth, the so-called dovish, pro-risk asset expectations are likely to become even more pronounced.
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