Bitcoin
and other cryptocurrencies were gaining on Friday after the widely watched monthly U.S. jobs report. Digital assets are at key technical levels and sensitive to macroeconomic forces, so traders are hoping the data may spur a new rally.
The price of Bitcoin has risen 2% over the past 24 hours to $29,400, having traded around $29,100 before the employment news, although for now, it remains below $30,000. It topped that level in April for the first time since June amid a rally that has carried it some 70% higher this year, but has failed to consolidate above it.
The $30,000 level is viewed as technically and psychologically important because it represents where prices stood before the worst of the bear-market selloff.
“The first cryptocurrency overcame a sharp decline on May 1 and is now testing downside resistance through last month’s local highs,” said Alex Kuptsikevich, an analyst at broker FxPro, refererring to the zone near $30,000 that Bitcoin has struggled to retake. “A consolidation above this level would be a significant signal for buyers and could trigger a growth surge.”
The U.S. jobs report for April may make a difference, likely to swing the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
and
S&P 500
as much as Bitcoin. As risk-sensitive assets, both stocks and cryptos are vulnerable to economic forces that could shape the future of monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. The central bank’s aggressive tightening of financial conditions—this week, it raised interest rates for the 10th time in 14 months—has been a driving force behind declines across both equities and Bitcoin.
Markets are pricing in a decent chance that the Fed’s quarter-point rate hike this week will be the last, but the central bank has said it will continue to watch data to guide its inflation-fighting campaign.
The U.S. economy created 253,000 nonfarm jobs in April, higher than the 180,000 expected among analysts surveyed by FactSet. Bitcoin moved higher alongside stocks as investors took the news as a sign that the economy remains resilient despite higher rates and persistent inflation.
Ether
—the second-largest crypto—gained 3% to $1,950. Smaller cryptos, or altcoins, were also higher, with
Cardano
up 1% and
Polygon
popping 2%. Memecoins exhibited similar action:
Dogecoin
and
Shiba Inu
each advanced 1%.
Write to Jack Denton at [email protected]
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