BTC has a range-bound week amid US jobs data

Hola folks!

Welcome back to our weekly crypto market overview. The past week has been volatile for the crypto market, as the US job data fell short of expectations, setting the stage for a 25-basis-point rate cut in the September US Federal Reserve Meeting. 

While BTC is trading low-volume, showing no significant movement upward or downward, hovering around the $55K mark, the altcoins are holding well. This could mean that altcoins are at their lowest level and poised for a strong bounce. Read on to learn more about how the market reacted to US job data news and what to expect in the coming week.

Last week, the crypto market suffered a $170 billion drop, with Bitcoin and Ethereum responsible for 78.82% of the losses. The sell-off was driven by fears of a Bank of Japan rate hike, with Governor Kazuo Ueda signaling potential rate hikes if economic conditions hold. Global stocks also fell after Nvidia shares took a hit, further dragging down markets. Meanwhile, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw an unprecedented outflow of $1.2 billion over eight days, marking the longest net outflow since their listing in January.

Ethereum showed signs of resilience despite the broader downturn, hitting a 4-month high in network growth with over 126,000 new wallets created. Tether made headlines by investing $100 million for a 9.8% stake in Latin American agricultural giant Adecoagro, marking its first foray into the agriculture and food sector. Meanwhile, asset manager WisdomTree withdrew its S-1 filing for a spot Ether ETF more than three years after its initial submission. El Salvador celebrated its third anniversary of adopting Bitcoin as legal tender, with a profit of over $31 million, defying early critics of its bold move.

As we head toward the next FOMC meeting on September 18, a 25 bps rate cut is widely expected, with the potential for a total 1% reduction over the next three meetings in 2024. With "Rektember" in full swing, historical trends suggest a rough September for crypto, but investors are watching closely for a potential "Uptober" rally. Optimism is building, particularly around Bitcoin's long-awaited post-halving rally and the recent increase in whale accumulation.

While BTC has been in a low-volume range-bound environment, the altcoins are showing resilience. Any news, positive or negative, will have an immediate impact on the crypto market. 

Altcoins such as SUI, STARK, HNT, AAVE, and QNT all show double-digit gains in a sluggish crypto market owing to token-specific news. 

• BTC $55,245 ⏬ 4.74%

• SUI $0.917 ⏫ 20.36%

• HNT $8.33  ⏫ 11.59%

• QNT $71.33 ⏫ 16.11%

(All data here is as of 3.17 p.m., 9 September 2024)

Before we conclude, here’s a quick look at some important news from around the crypto world.

• The U.S. posted August job growth of 142,000, slightly less than expected, but the unemployment rate dipped to 4.2%. U.S. job growth was less than expected in August. The bitcoin price rose 1% just after the numbers hit but remains lower by about 5% from one week ago. Read more here. 

• The Ethereum Foundation’s (EF) main Ethereum wallet currently holds about $650 million, down from $1.3 billion of ETH held in March 2022. The EF spends roughly $100 million annually and presently has a 10-year runway based on the price of ether (ETH), the blockchain’s native token. Read more here. 

That’s it for now. Thanks for sticking around.

See you later, folks! 👋

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