WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Cryptocurrencies are trading on a weak note ahead of the monthly jobs data on Friday. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is expected to reveal a far lower addition to non-farm payrolls in the month of January than in the previous month.
Weekly data released by the U.S. Department of Labor just a while ago showed initial jobless claims for the week ended February 1 increasing to 219 thousand from 208 thousand in the previous week. Markets had expected it to rise to 213 thousand only. The four-week moving average for initial claims, which smoothens any week-to-week volatility also increased by 4 thousand to 217 thousand.
Though the data corroborates the view that a softening in the labor market in the current year is highly likely, opinion is divided over whether the cooling is severe enough to warrant a more dovish stance by the Federal Reserve.
Indications from the CME FedWatch tool that tracks the expectations of interest rate traders shows that the likelihood of a pause by the Federal Reserve in March has increased to 85.5 percent. It was 83 percent a day earlier, 82 percent a week earlier and 57 percent a month earlier.
Despite crypto markets' recent focus being overwhelmingly on crypto-related initiatives and pronouncements from the Trump regime, the non-farms data release has renewed the focus on the macroeconomic picture as well. With the Fed acknowledging its approach of reliance on incoming data, markets are keenly awaiting the jobs data for further cues on monetary policy.
With no indications yet of distress in the labor market, the Dollar Index gaining 0.40 percent and the ten-year U.S. bond yields spiking 0.59 percent, crypto market sentiment remains slightly bearish.
The CMC Fear and Greed Index, a proprietary tool developed by CoinMarketCap to measure the emotional state of the cryptocurrency market and to provide insights on overvaluation or undervaluation if any, is currently at 35 denoting 'Fear'. It was at 38 (Fear) a day ago, 54 (Neutral) a week ago and 60 (Greed) a month earlier.
Overall crypto market capitalization has declined close to half a percent overnight to $3.23 trillion. The 24-hour trading volume has also decreased 28 percent to $118 billion.
President Donald Trump's son Eric's post encouraging family-linked World Liberty Financial to invest in Bitcoin as well as the easing tensions on the trade tariff front limited losses.
Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, only 6 are trading with overnight gains of more than a percent. Likewise, only 4 are trading with gains of more than a percent on a weekly basis. Only 22 cryptocurrencies are trading with gains exceeding 1 percent on a year-to-date basis.
Bitcoin dropped 0.7 percent overnight to trade at $98,182.36, around 10 percent below the all-time high. BTC has lost 6.6 percent in the past week and 2.5 percent over the past 30 days. The original cryptocurrency is, however, holding on to gains of 5.1 percent on a year-to-date basis. The 24-hour trading range was between $99,168.61 and $96,174.83.
Data from Farside Investors showed that Bitcoin Spot ETF products in the U.S. recorded inflows of $66 million on Wednesday versus $341 million on Tuesday.
Ethereum has slipped 1.9 percent in the past 24 hours to trade at $2,753.88, around 44 percent below the previous peak recorded in November 2021. Weekly losses are a little more than 15 percent. Ether traded between $2,857.14 and $2,716.26 in the past 24 hours.
Latest data revealed that inflows to Ethereum Spot ETF products in the U.S. dropped to $18 million from $308 million on Tuesday.
4th ranked XRP (XRP) plunged 6 percent overnight to trade at $2.39, around 38 percent below the all-time high touched in January 2018. The cryptocurrency's weekly losses are close to 23 percent.
The price of 5th ranked Solana (SOL) decreased 5.2 percent overnight. With weekly losses of more than 18 percent, SOL is currently trading at $196.41, around 33 percent below its record high on January 19, 2025.
6th ranked BNB (BNB), the highest-ranking cryptocurrency to trade with overnight gains added 0.92 percent, limiting losses in the past week to 14.2 percent. BNB is currently trading at a price of $583.25 which is 26 percent below the all-time high touched on December 4, 2024.
8th ranked Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 2.4 percent overnight to trade at $0.2611. Having shed 21.5 percent in the past week, DOGE is trading 65 percent below the previous peak scaled in May 2021.
9th ranked Cardano (ADA) erased 3.3 percent overnight to trade at $0.7456. ADA is currently trading 76 percent below the record high touched in September 2021.
10th ranked TRON (TRX) rallied 1.6 percent overnight to trade at $ 0.2296. TRX has shed 7.9 percent in the past week. The trading price is 48 percent below the cryptocurrency's all-time high recorded on December 4, 2024.
57th ranked Berachain (BERA) topped overnight gains with a surge of 62 percent. The BERA token of the Layer 1 Berachain, a decentralized finance (DeFi)- focused network launched its mainnet on Thursday. The cryptocurrency ranged between a high of $14.99 and $1 on Thursday.
19th ranked Bitget Token (BGB) followed with overnight gains of 3.4 percent.
84th ranked Virtuals Protocol (VIRTUAL) topped overnight losses with a decline of close to 17 percent. 95th ranked Pudgy Penguins (PENGU) followed with overnight losses of 13.7 percent.
55th ranked Ethena (ENA), 94th ranked Official Melania Meme (MELANIA), 58th ranked Raydium (RAY) and 34th ranked Official TRUMP (TRUMP), all erased more than 10 percent in the past 24 hours.
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