Bitcoin and XRP Experience Surge in Value, Only to Decline Following Release of Mixed US Jobs Report – Decrypt

On Friday morning New York time, Bitcoin surpassed $100,000 per coin following a mixed U.S. jobs report indicating a decrease in unemployment but a slowdown in job growth in the largest economy globally.

The leading digital coin by market cap has now dropped and is being traded at $98,320 as per CoinGecko, marking a 1% increase in the last 24 hours.

Other major digital assets such as XRP and Ethereum also saw increases before declining. Currently, XRP and Ethereum are valued at $2.47 and $2,751 respectively. XRP, the third-largest virtual coin, experienced a 7% rise within the last day after a midweek dip, although it is still down by 19% for the week.

Recent Labor Department data displayed noteworthy wage growth last month, indicating that consumers are likely to continue spending. The decrease in unemployment from 4.1% to 4% hints at the Federal Reserve postponing interest rate cuts in the near future.

Typically, low levels of unemployment lead to higher consumer spending and subsequently increased prices. The Federal Reserve had raised borrowing costs to two-decade highs in 2022 to combat inflation, but then lowered interest rates three times in 2024, positively impacting assets like cryptocurrencies and stocks.

In the past week, Bitcoin has faced heightened volatility due to various factors such as trade threats from President Donald Trump and an AI-related tech selloff. Despite this, the overall crypto market cap has decreased by nearly 1% to $3.35 trillion.

Edited by Andrew Hayward