Bitcoin falls below $75,000 as tech stocks rebound after jobs data
Bitcoin reaches a multi-week low
Bitcoin fell below $75,000 after the start of Friday's US trading session. It reached $74,762, its lowest level since Aug. 21.
The fall came while US tech stocks rose. The total crypto market cap, the combined value of all cryptocurrencies, was down 0.5% on the day.
Key numbers from Friday
- Bitcoin fell to $74,762, its lowest level since Aug. 21.
- The Nasdaq Composite Index gained 1.8% in the first hour of trading.
- SanDisk and Micron Technologies were both up 6.3%.
- An analyst warned Bitcoin could fall to $69,000 if a key support level fails.
What the US jobs report showed
US nonfarm payrolls, a measure of jobs added outside farming, rose by 165,000 in October. Market expectations were for 65,000 jobs.
The US Bureau of Labor Statistics also revised September's figure up from 29,000 to 60,000. The unemployment rate was 4.1%, compared with a predicted 4.2%.
The bureau said jobs increased in professional and business services, health care, and transportation and warehousing.
Later in the session, the S&P 500 was up 0.6% and the Nasdaq Composite Index was up 1.2%, while Bitcoin remained weak.
Strong jobs data can make it easier for the Federal Reserve, the US central bank, to raise interest rates. Higher rates can reduce money flowing into risk assets such as crypto.
Expectations of a 25-basis-point rate hike in December, meaning an increase of 0.25 percentage points, rose from 66.9% to 76.8%, according to CME Group's FedWatch Tool, which tracks market expectations.
Analyst warns of a further fall
Bitcoin tested support around $77,533, its 50-week simple moving average. A moving average is a trend line based on the average price over a set period, here 50 weeks.
Keith Alan, cofounder of crypto trading platform Material Indicators, wrote that the durability of that support could not be confirmed before the weekly close. He said the level had acted as support since mid-September.
Alan said Bitcoin could drop to $69,000 if the area around $75,500 does not hold. He said a recovery would depend on Bitcoin making a series of higher highs and higher lows on shorter time frames. This is an analyst opinion, not a confirmed outcome.
What is confirmed and what is still unclear
Confirmed from the reported data: Bitcoin's low of $74,762, the jobs figures, the unemployment rate, the stock gains, and the rise in December rate-hike expectations.
Still unclear: whether the $75,500 area will hold and whether Bitcoin will recover or fall further. That depends on future price action and the weekly close mentioned by Alan.
Sources
Newisty Editorial Team covers technology, cryptocurrency, digital products, online platforms, developer tools and the wider digital economy. Our content is researched from official sources, company announcements, public documentation, market data and other primary or reputable sources. Articles are reviewed and edited before publication for clarity, accuracy and useful context.