Bitcoin rose above $65,000 on Friday after U.S. payrolls unexpectedly fell in July, a print that analysts say sent traders scrambling to price out a September Federal Reserve rate hike.
The world's foremost cryptocurrency traded up nearly 2% on the day, according to The Block's price page, which tracked bitcoin (BTC) at around $65,200 on Aug. 7.
Nonfarm payrolls dropped by 23,000 in July against forecasts for an 80,000 gain, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics revised June's figure down to a 20,000 increase from 57,000.
The unemployment rate slipped to 4.1% from 4.2%. "This is a massive surprise and could see the markets completely price out a hike in September," said Kyle Rodda, senior financial market analyst at Capital.com. The dollar fell, and precious metals rose, he said, with futures moving as though weak data was good news for risk assets given the policy implications.
Rodda flagged the decline in the jobless rate as the report's most deceptive detail, a function of declining labor force participation and a separate survey rather than genuine labor market strength. He also raised a longer-term question about whether AI was beginning to leave its mark on hiring, with employers possibly substituting automation for workers.
