Bitcoin (BTC-USD) rose again above the $100,000 mark, supported by upbeat employment data that boosted market sentiment, even as the cryptocurrency continues to trade below its record highs.
The token gained 1.5% to $103,195 on Thursday morning, recovering from a sharp early-week decline. However, prices remain well below the all-time high of $126,000 reached in early October.
In a note released Thursday, analysts at Deutsche Bank said that “risk-on sentiment” returned to the markets over the past day, as the S&P 500 index climbed 0.4% on Wednesday, rebounding from the previous session’s sell-off.
The bank added that “stronger-than-expected data, along with growing expectations that the U.S. government shutdown could soon end, helped improve investor optimism over the short-term outlook,” which in turn stabilized bitcoin after recent losses.
An ADP report showed that the U.S. private sector added 42,000 jobs in October — its first monthly increase since July.
Bitcoin had fallen earlier in the week amid investor concerns over the U.S. government shutdown and slowing economic growth.
Sean Farrell, head of digital asset strategy at Fundstrat, said Monday that selling pressure from “whales” — large bitcoin holders — has increased in recent weeks, noting that billions of dollars worth of bitcoin were recently moved from private wallets to exchanges in preparation for liquidation.
Simon Peters, crypto market analyst at eToro, commented Wednesday that bitcoin’s latest pullback followed the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting, where Fed Chair Jerome Powell dampened expectations for a December rate cut.
The U.S. Federal Reserve had lowered interest rates last week by 25 basis points to a range of 3.75%–4.00%, but Powell said during the post-meeting press conference that another reduction in December “is far from certain,” lowering market hopes for additional easing next month.
Peters added that roughly $915 million in leveraged bitcoin positions have been liquidated since early November, contributing to the recent decline.
“While the pullback may unsettle some investors, this level of volatility is not unusual,” he said, noting that bitcoin has previously seen drops of over 30%, such as the fall between January and April this year when prices plunged from $109,000 to $74,500 before surging 70% to a record high of $126,300.
Peters concluded that “bitcoin remains in a long-term uptrend, forming higher highs and higher lows,” adding that short-term catalysts — such as renewed expectations for rate cuts or continued inflows into spot bitcoin ETFs — could quickly trigger a sharp recovery.
