Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $70,000 around Wall Street on Friday as weak US jobs data failed to boost risk assets.
Main points:
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Bitcoin and stocks fell in response to a surprise drop in US non-government payrolls.
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The Fed’s interest rate expectations remain tenuous, and markets see only one cut this year.
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BTC price action is making its last breakout attempt and is continuing its 2026 trend.
Bitcoin ignores “clearly weak” labor market
Data from TradingView showed that the daily price of BTC exceeded 3% to $68,176 on Bitstamp.
US non-farm payrolls data disappointed across the board, suggesting the labor market is more under pressure than expected.
The economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, compared with an expected gain of 58,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The unemployment rate also increased and reached 4.4 percent.
The publication contrasted with the January edition, which produced surprising employment results.
“This is only the second job loss since the 2020 pandemic,” wrote business source The Kobeissi Letter in response to X.
“The US labor market is clearly weakening.”
Labor market tension traditionally represents a tailwind for crypto assets and risk, as it implies a greater chance of interest rate cuts.
The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, however, showed that the Federal Reserve will do so at its next meeting on March 18.
Thus, the employment result failed to boost risk assets and the crypto fell after the US stocks. At the time of writing, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were down 1.5% and 1.3%, respectively.
Only gold rose, with the precious metal gaining 1.5% to $5,155 an ounce.
BTC price is coming off monthly highs
There was frustration among Bitcoin traders as BTC/USD failed to consolidate its breakout from its narrow local trading range.
related to: ‘Unpopular’ Bitcoin Exodus Sees 32K BTC Leave Exchanges in One Day
J. A. Martunn, a contributor to the onchain analytical platform CryptoQuant, commented: “Deviations are sold from highs.”
Maartunn noted three such failed breakouts in recent months, each ending as a reversal before pulling back lower.
“The last deviation was only around $71,000. If history repeats itself, this level could again act as a long-term trap,” he said.
The price has returned to intersect with key long-term levels, particularly the 200-week exponential moving average (EMA) and the all-time high since 2021.
Keith Allan, co-founder of stock trading material Indicators, added: “It looks like $BTC is going to break this range again.”
Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on existing expectations of new lows for Bitcoin in the future, despite it reaching monthly highs.
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