Bitcoin, Ethereum prices volatile after mixed US jobs report

Bitcoin’s price was volatile on Friday following the release of data from the Labor Department – following the trend this week of dipping and diving as investors decide what to do with riskier assets.

First, the largest cryptocurrency rose after news showed US employers added 315,000 jobs in August, pushing the size of the labor force to a record high. However, the report also showed that job growth has slowed in the US, as employers added more than 526,000 jobs in July.

And just as quickly as it appeared, BTC fell right back down today. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was priced at $20,110, according to CoinGecko — down 1.5% from the high it hit this morning Eastern Time of $20,428 after the Labor Department data dropped.

The digital asset’s jump initially was likely due to the seemingly good market news coming out of the US, experts said Decrypt. Trader and analyst Alex Krüger said the economic data was “100% the driver”.

Bitcoin rose first with US stocks – and when US stocks rise, Bitcoin tends to do the same. The asset has been closely tied to stocks this year as investors holding cryptocurrencies have been trade them like technology stocksaccording to data from Arcane Research.

But later in the trading day, stocks – and crypto – took a hit. Why? Because investors are still keen to move risky assets, experts confirmed Decrypt. This is for a number of reasons – including uncertain times when it comes to energy: Russia today shut down the Nord Stream 1 pipeline, halting gas supplies to Europe and spooking markets.

“Risk assets have been volatile following the employment figures,“ Chief Commercial Officer at XBTO Group, Paul Eisma, said: adds that eThe capital, stock and crypto markets initially rose before being sold as investors “worried that employment numbers may not be weak enough to change the food‘s interest rate path, as well as anxiety with Gazprom Nord Stream 1 pipeline turn off.“

Bitcoin wasn’t the only cryptocurrency to rise and fall on Friday. Ethereum was trading at $1,591, a 1.5% jump in 24 hours. At one point, however, it was up nearly 6%, reaching $1,642.

Ethereum, the second largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, is expected to upgrade this month in a long-awaited move to a proof-of-stake blockchain, which we hope will make the network more energy efficient.