Crypto prices get big bounce after positive US jobs report
Updated
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rose higher on Friday following the release of a stronger-than-expected US jobs report.
At least one analyst cited the report as a possible cause of bitcoin’s rise to above $41,000 by 8 p.m. EST after market close, and corresponding increases in other digital coin prices, while others were skeptical.
Bitcoin, the world’s the most valuable cryptocurrency, was up 9.84% in late afternoon trading on the West Coast as 687,703 units changed hands.
Jason Deane, bitcoin analyst at Quantum Economics, told Coindesk that that "bitcoin's recent moves do seem to have coincided with the latest US jobs report, and it's possible this may simply have acted as catalyst for an overdue market move."
Jobs total exceeds estimates
The US gained 467,000 jobs in January. Economists polled by Wall Street had forecast 150,000 new jobs in January, according to MarketWatch.
Ethereum, the world’s second-largest crypto asset rose more than 10%, surpassing $2,900. Most other crypto assets also enjoyed healthy gains, with Avalanche rising more than 11%.
At the close of the market day in the US, litecoin was 8.18% up, monero was 9.94% up, bitcoin cash was 7.05% higher, and dogecoin was 4.73% higher.
Some analysts also flagged the possibility of a short squeeze, according to Coindesk.
Rutger van Faassen, head of innovation, new markets and industry ecosystems at New York-based data intelligence firm Curinos, told Capital.com that he thinks the cause of the rise is hard to pinpoint.
What is your sentiment on BTC/USD?
No clear reason
“I don’t think there is yet a very clear reason why crypto goes up or down,” he said. “Some people would say it’s related to tech. There seems to be some correlation with tech stocks. But I think, right now, it’s a very volatile market. I don’t think anyone has really figured out why it’s up or down.”
He said crypto also behaves a lot like fiat, or regular, currencies. Consumers are also having an impact.
“I think the challenge with crypto is that there’s still a whole portion of just consumers there, right?” he said. “They can really change the dynamic. If it’s all professional traders (doing the investing), you can pretty much see what happened.”
Bulls trying to fight
Independent crypto analyst and investor Jeremy Cowen, who has more than 700,000 YouTube followers, was impressed that bitcoin surpassed $39,000.
“The bulls are, at least, trying to put up a fight,” he said in a YouTube presentation.
He said the rise is “entertaining” and somewhat noteworthy.
“A lot of people have been fairly bored with price action over the last few months,” Cowen said.
But Cowen took a wait-and-see approach on what Friday’s increase could mean for the price of bitcoin going forward. He wants to see how the price moves on a weekly basis.
“What I would say how is: Proceed with caution,” Cowen said.
Markets in this article
Related topics