Bitcoin erased its recent gains Friday following a sharp sell-off triggered by stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs data. The cryptocurrency peaked at $82,281 early Thursday before plunging below $78,700 and stabilizing near $79,500 by midday Friday, representing a loss of more than 2% in 24 hours.
The collapse occurred at 8:30 a.m. EST when bitcoin fell from just over $81,300 to $79,428 in less than 20 minutes. It continued declining to below $78,700 around 10:50 a.m. before recovering somewhat. Bitcoin's market capitalization tumbled to $1.57 trillion, down from $1.62 trillion just hours earlier.
Liquidations Mount Across Crypto Markets
The sharp reversal caught traders off guard, sparking widespread liquidations. Long-position liquidations made up nearly 55% of approximately $193 million in leveraged positions liquidated by 12:23 p.m. EST. When including altcoins, long bets liquidated across the cryptocurrency market reached $295 million, compared with $213 million in short positions.
Jobs Report Shakes Risk Assets
The U.S. economy added 336,000 jobs in the latest report, substantially exceeding consensus forecasts of 170,000 to 180,000. Unemployment remained anchored at 3.8%. The stronger-than-expected employment data raised concerns among investors that the Federal Reserve will maintain elevated interest rates, prompting selloffs in both stocks and cryptocurrency.
Market participants feared that sustained employment strength would compel central banks to keep borrowing costs elevated indefinitely.
