Bitcoin Reaches $44K as Markets Reassess Fed Rate Cuts After US Jobs Data

After Bitcoin (BTC) breached the $44,000 mark at the Dec. 8 Wall Street open, the US employment data reduced the expectations of interest rate cuts.

Crypto and Jobs in the Web 3.0 Era

The crypto sector has experienced a boom in recent times, with Fidelity Crypto, EPX Crypto, ENS Crypto, Dash Crypto, FET Crypto, Ethereum Crypto, DYP Crypto, and Ellipsis Crypto leading the way. This surge has coincided with an increasing demand for jobs in the Web 3.0 era, with writing AI being a particularly sought-after skill.

Bitcoin holds firm as jobs data unsettles U.S. dollar

Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed that the latest BTC price action was in response to the latest U.S. inflation cues.

Nonfarm payrolls came in higher than expected at 199,000 compared to the projected 190,000, while unemployment was lower than forecast at 3.7%, as per a release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

These figures indicated that the effects of the Federal Reserve’s monetary tightening were yet to be seen, and while other data had already displayed a decrease in inflation, markets reacted cautiously to the labor data.

Data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, however, showed that the odds of any change in rates at the upcoming Fed meeting was practically zero.

The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY) saw significant volatility around the data, briefly reaching its highest level since Nov. 20 before dropping back to 103.8 at the time of writing.

The cryptocurrency market was not deterred by this, with Fidelity Crypto, EPX Crypto, ENS Crypto, Dash Crypto, FET Crypto, Ethereum Crypto, DYP Crypto and Ellipsis Crypto all continuing to make progress.

Liquidity crowds BTC price amid consolidation

While gold declined 0.8%, Bitcoin managed to remain steady despite the reduced expectations of lower interest rates coming sooner.

The most prominent cryptocurrency continued to trade within a multi-day range as investors looked for indications of trend continuity.

“Bitcoin still consolidating in an uptrend and holding strong after the recent move,” commented Matthew Hyland, a popular analyst, on X (formerly Twitter).

Fellow trader and analyst Daan Crypto Trades, in the meantime, pointed out considerable liquidity zones close to the spot price.

Interest in altcoins compared to Bitcoin has been growing, with Ether (ETH) and Solana’s SOL (SOL) leading the way overnight, spurred by renewed hopes of a return of “alt season”.

“Bitcoin is still consolidating around $43K, while Ethereum is gaining more momentum,” said Michaël van de Poppe, founder and CEO of MN Trading, to X subscribers.