Bitcoin fell below $70,000 on Friday as disappointing U.S. employment data failed to lift risk assets. The U.S. labor market lost 92,000 jobs in February, a surprise downturn that pushed the unemployment rate to 4.4%. Despite this economic strain, markets still expect only one Federal Reserve interest-rate cut this year. Bitcoin’s price retreated over 3% to around $68,176, continuing a pattern of failed breakouts from its recent trading range, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq also declined.
Bitcoin slipped under $70,000 around Friday’s Wall Street open as weak U.S. nonfarm payrolls data failed to boost risk assets. Both Bitcoin and stocks slumped in reaction to a surprise downturn, while Federal Reserve interest-rate odds remained hawkish.
The economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which was far worse than expected. The unemployment rate also came in higher at 4.4%, marking just the second monthly job loss since the 2020 pandemic.
Trading resource The Kobeissi Letter wrote in a response, “The US labor market is clearly weakening.” Labor-market strain traditionally signals a tailwind for crypto as it implies a greater chance of interest-rate cuts.
Data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool showed little chance of a rate cut at the Fed’s next meeting. Markets currently see just one rate cut in store for 2026.
The employment result thus failed to lift risk assets, with crypto following U.S. stocks lower. At the time of writing, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were down 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.
Among Bitcoin traders, frustration was apparent as BTC/USD failed to cement a breakout from its narrow local trading range. J. A. Maartunn, a contributor to onchain analytics platform CryptoQuant, commented that deviations above the range high keep getting sold.
Maartunn flagged three such failed breakouts in recent months, with each ending as a deviation before a retreat. “The latest deviation just occurred around $71K. If history repeats, this level may again act as a trap for late longs,” he warned.
Keith Alan, cofounder of trading resource Material Indicators, added that Bitcoin appeared to be round-tripping the range again. Price returned to interact with key long-term levels, including the 200-week exponential moving average and the old all-time high from 2021.
