Bitcoin remained down on Wednesday, but recovered some losses as U.S. jobs growth strengthened in the first month of 2026.
As of 2:21 GMT, Bitcoin was trading 1.02 percent lower at $68,102, while Ether was down 1.05 percent at $1,998.43.
Bitcoin had slipped under the $67,000 mark during Asian trading as investors held back ahead of crucial U.S. employment data, which may shape expectations for the Federal Reserve’s next interest rate moves.
Bitcoin rises above $70,000 on strong U.S. employment data
The employment data showed that the U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January, well above economists’ expectations of 70,000. December’s job growth was revised to 48,000.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate eased to 4.3 percent, beating forecasts of 4.4 percent and improving slightly from December’s 4.4 percent.
Bitcoin recently bounced back from last week’s slide toward the $60,000 mark, but has had difficulty holding above $70,000, underscoring persistent volatility and still-fragile sentiment across the crypto market.
Investors are now looking ahead to Friday’s U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, which could further shape inflation expectations and influence the outlook for Federal Reserve policy. According to the CME FedWatch tool, markets are currently pricing in a pause in rate changes until June, following three consecutive cuts in late 2025.
Typically, expectations of looser monetary policy and lower interest rates tend to support risk assets such as Bitcoin, as they reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets.
However, this cycle has unfolded differently. Despite the Fed’s rate cuts, Bitcoin has remained relatively subdued. Analysts attribute the muted response to tighter liquidity conditions, softer institutional flows and waning speculative momentum in the crypto market.
Read: Bitcoin falls back below $70,000 amid thin liquidity, cautious investor sentiment
Crypto market falls
Bitcoin’s continued decline has weighed on crypto-related stocks. Coinbasedropped 2.80 percent in pre-market trading, while Bullish fell marginally.
However, Bitcoin treasury companies Strategy and Strive gained 0.48 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, trading platform Robinhood fell 8.38 percent after saying fourth-quarter crypto earnings fell 38 percent.
Most altcoins also fell on Wednesday, extending losses amid cautious market sentiment. The world’s third-largest cryptocurrency, XRP, fell 0.81 percent to $1.3920. Solana dipped 1.90 percent to $82.160, while Polygon fell 0.64 percent to $0.0914
Meanwhile, Cardano gained 2.1 percent to $0.2596. Among meme tokens, Dogecoin dropped 1.95 percent.
