As the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency market gave up some of the gains earned over the weekend as a result of U.S. job data released on Friday that suggested inflation may be slowing in the largest economy in the world, Bitcoin and Ether dipped in Monday trading in Asia.Â
The value of Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency in the world, reached a seven-week high on Saturday, reaching US$21,446.
According to data from CoinMarketCap, in the 24 hours, Bitcoin dropped 1.7% to US$20,924 and Ether dropped 3.5% to US$1,570.
Solana, which fell 11% to US$32.72, was the worst performer among the top 10 cryptocurrencies by market capitalization on CoinMarketCap, excluding stablecoins.
Dogecoin saw the second-largest loss, falling 7.9% to $0.11 US. After Elon Musk spent US$44 billion to acquire Twitter Inc., there was speculation that Musk, a fan of Dogecoin, would integrate the coin into the social media platform. However, the memecoin is now seeing a decline in buying interest.
U.S Stocks And Bitcoin MarketsÂ
U.S. stocks rose at Friday’s close. The S&P 500 Index closed 1.4% higher while the Nasdaq Composite Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average both increased by 1.3%.
According to information issued by the Department of Labor on Friday, nonfarm payroll jobs in the United States climbed by 261,000, and the employment rate rose to 3.7% in October. Market forecasts called for a 205,000 job increase and a 3.5% unemployment rate.
Investors bought risky assets like stocks and cryptocurrencies on the premise that the economy may be cooling off in response to the higher-than-expected jobless rate. The U.S. Federal Reserve may be less under pressure to continue aggressive interest rate increases to curb the country’s rising inflation, which is currently near 40-year highs.
Currently, market experts at CME Group estimate that there is a 60% possibility that the Fed will raise interest rates by 50 basis points in December. The most recent increase, on November 2, was the sixth rate increase this year by the Fed, including four increases of 75 basis points.
3.75% to 4%, up from near zero in March, is a 15-year high for U.S. interest rates. The Fed has stated that it wants inflation to return to its 2% target range. In September, it was running at 8.2%.
