BitcoinBTCUSD –0.06% and other cryptocurrencies were higher Friday, but the day ahead looked set to introduce volatility as investors anticipated the release of the U.S. jobs report.

The price of Bitcoin has risen 1% over the past 24 hours to above $20,100. The largest crypto crossed the key $20,000 level after slipping below it on Thursday, moving back into the lower end of the $20,000 to $25,000 range in which it has held for months since a dramatic selloff in June knocked it down from $30,000.

“There’s some serious weakness with Bitcoin right now, with it breaking the line below $20,000 again. Sentiment is of course very bearish,” said Santiago Portela, CEO of Web3 firm Fitchin. “Bitcoin might break its low for this cycle of $17,500, but it would take a lot of sell pressure for that to happen.”

Given the correlation between crypto and stocks—which are both sensitive to swings in risk sentiment among investors—Friday is likely to hold a key catalyst for Bitcoin in the form of the U.S. jobs report for August. The most dominant macro force shaping markets at the moment is linked to the Federal Reserve, which has moved aggressively this year to tighten financial conditions in a bid to get red-hot inflation under control.

The biggest interest-rate hikes in decades have already knocked stocks and cryptos alike this year, because higher rates both dampen demand for riskier bets as well as raise the prospect of recession, which would likely batter Bitcoin even further. Signs that the U.S. economy is strong, in the form of better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls labor data, could indicate that the Fed has much more room to run in hiking rates.

“One big question is how Bitcoin will react to the U.S. nonfarm payrolls data? Well, Bitcoin has started to behave a lot more like a riskier asset which means when a risk-on rally is on, we do see the Bitcoin price rallying as well,” said Naeem Aslam, an analyst at broker AvaTrade. “In the absence of a risk-on rally, Bitcoin’s price begins to move lower.”
Source: Barrons

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