Bitcoin slips below $80,000 after U.S. payrolls surprise

U.S. nonfarm payrolls increased by 162,000 in August, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported at 8:30 a.m. ET. The unemployment rate remained at 4.1% and earlier payroll figures were revised up by a combined 55,000.

The stronger-than-expected jobs print coincided with an immediate market reaction. Bitcoin dropped about 2% in the first minutes after the release and traded below $80,000 before settling near $79,570 later in the session. Over a 24-hour window Bitcoin remained positive. Ethereum traded around $2,454 and maintained earlier gains over the same period.

Markets adjusted expectations for Federal Reserve policy. The implied probability of a 25-basis-point increase in September rose to about 59% from roughly 52%. The two-year Treasury yield, sensitive to Fed moves, climbed about 7.6 basis points. Ten-year and 30-year yields rose about 3.2 and 1 basis point, respectively. The U.S. dollar index strengthened near 99.3, up roughly 0.3%.

Higher yields and a firmer dollar weighed on other assets. Gold prices fell in a range of about 1.7% to 2.2% as rate expectations increased. U.S. equity futures reacted unevenly: S&P 500 futures turned negative and were down about 0.22% shortly after the report, while Nasdaq 100 futures were slightly higher. Average hourly earnings rose 0.3% for the month and 3.1% year over year.

Oil followed separate drivers. Brent crude traded slightly lower near $95 after the jobs report but remained more than 8% higher for the week amid renewed U.S.-Iran tensions and related supply concerns.

Bitcoin’s market capitalization was about $1.59 trillion, with 24-hour trading volume near $44.7 billion and roughly 20.08 million coins in circulation. Short-term price movements during the session tracked incoming economic data and shifts in Fed expectations.