Bitcoin held near $64,000 early Friday as traders awaited the U.S. government's July jobs report, after private hiring slowed sharply and Treasury yields rose the day before the release. Accelerating wage growth also complicated the case for an easier Fed policy. The official report could decide whether Bitcoin gets rate-cut relief or a broader growth scare.
Bitcoin traded at $64,322.23 at about 2:08 a.m. UTC Friday, according to Coinbase data cited by CryptoSlate. That put the coin 0.37% above the bottom of a $64,087.41 to $64,944.16 rolling 24-hour range. Investing.com reported the coin edging up 0.4% to $64,961.2 by 05:33 ET (09:33 GMT), on pace for a 2.2% weekly gain within a $62,000-$65,000 range.
Private hiring slows sharply before the official print
ADP reported that private employers added 44,000 jobs in July, 51,000 fewer than the revised 95,000 gain in June. Education and health services supplied 36,000 of the jobs added, about 82% of the overall increase, while leisure and hospitality shed 11,000 positions and trade, transportation and utilities lost 8,000.
Wage data complicated the case for easier policy. Annual pay growth for workers changing jobs accelerated to 7.0% from 6.6% in June, while pay growth for workers who stayed in their jobs held at 4.4%. The two-year Treasury yield rose to 4.25% on Aug. 6 from 4.18% a day earlier, and the 10-year climbed to 4.69% from 4.63%.
What today's payrolls print needs to show
The Bureau of Labor Statistics scheduled the July Employment Situation for 8:30 a.m. ET on Aug. 7. Falling short-term yields and a weaker dollar alongside stable or rising Bitcoin after the release would fit a rate-relief reaction; weak payrolls paired with falling Bitcoin and broader risk assets would instead fit growth-scare selling, though those moves alone would not prove the cause.
A similar pattern followed June's weak report, when a lower two-year yield, a softer dollar and $223 million of spot ETF inflows accompanied a Bitcoin rebound — a precedent, not a template, for Friday's reaction. This week's ETF flows offer no clear signal. Farside's table showed a provisional $9.3 million total for Aug. 6, with BlackRock's IBIT entry still unreported. That compares with a complete $244.4 million inflow on Aug. 5.
Separately, crypto markets faced pressure from waning optimism over an Iranian deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as no agreement appeared to be reached despite U.S. assertions that a deal was close.
Sources: CryptoSlate, Investing.com
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
