Key Takeaways
- Bitcoin fell 5% from its $102,000 mark on stronger-than-expected US jobs data.
- The cryptocurrency market, which gained 11% at the start of 2025, is now down over 5%, with Ethereum, KSRP and Solana also plummeting.
Bitcoin has fallen more than 5% since hitting a high above $102,000 on Monday.
This 5% drop pushed Bitcoin to the $96.5k mark, and the momentum suggests that the asset is struggling to recover, as it remains at this level several hours after the initial drop.
This marks a tough start to 2025 as markets react to rising US job creation and the Federal Reserve’s projected stance on interest rates.
The JOLTS report showed that job creation rose to 8.1 million in November, from an upwardly revised 7.8 million in October.
A strong labor market dampens hopes for monetary easing, signaling less urgency to cut rates.
This is consistent with the CME FedWatch tools projection than a 95% chance the Federal Reserve will keep rates steady at its January 29 meeting.
Amid this data, the crypto market reacted to the downside, resulting in over $400 million in liquidations, according to Coinglass data. Of that, $275 million happened within four hours.
The decline spread across major digital assets, with Ethereum down 6.4%, KSRP down 4.8%, Solana down 5.7% and Dogecoin down 6.5% over the past 24 hours.
The Pudgy Penguins token experienced the biggest drop, falling 12.3%, according to CoinGecko.
The crypto market rose over 11% in the first week of 2025, but the latest crash wiped out nearly half of that progress.
Traders are now watching to see how President Trump’s pro-crypto stance could affect market sentiment, although the impact of potential regulatory changes remains uncertain.
