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On Thursday, the crypto market mirrored the stock market’s downturn ahead of Friday’s anticipated U.S. jobs report. All major U.S. stock indices slipped into the red, with bitcoin (BTC) tumbling 3.6% in the past 24 hours. Meanwhile, gold enjoyed a nearly 1% gain, climbing back above the $2,500 per ounce mark.
Concerns about a looming U.S. recession continue to stir unease. By noon on Sept. 5, the Russell 2000, Dow Jones, Nasdaq, and NYSE were all down. Investors are holding their breath for Friday’s jobs report, though signs of economic fragility have been surfacing.
For instance, the U.S. Treasury yield curve has remained inverted for over two years. Additionally, the Sahm Rule—an indicator with a history of predicting recessions—has recently been triggered.
BTC/USD 15-minute chart on Sept. 5, 2024 at 1:20 p.m. EDT.
Even with the recent market slump and growing concerns about a recession, there are still those holding out hope for a “soft landing.”
“While incoming data is mixed, it is not collapsing, and the global cutting cycle should help the economy achieve a soft landing, extending the cycle into 2025,” Emmanuel Cau, the head of European equity strategy at Barclays told CNBC.
The Barclays’ market strategist added:
We see this as a broadly positive environment for equities, but a lot is arguably priced in, and there are a number of wildcards to get through.
Bitcoin dipped 3% on Thursday, and the overall crypto market shrank by 1.53%, landing at $1.99 trillion by 12 p.m. EDT. Earlier in the day, at 11:30 a.m. EDT, bitcoin touched an intraday low of $55,816.
Ethereum (ETH), the second-largest cryptocurrency, dropped 3.24% over the same 24-hour period. Both BTC and ETH led the top ten cryptos as the biggest losers on Thursday afternoon.
After briefly falling below the $56K mark, bitcoin managed to bounce back to $56,300 per coin by 12:50 p.m. EDT. By 1:20 p.m. EDT, gold’s price was up by 0.6% against the U.S. dollar, reaching $2,510.
