Bitcoin Falls Below $80,000 After Strong US Jobs Data

Bitcoin slipped below $80,000 after US employment data for August came in far stronger than expected, leading traders to reassess the chance of a Federal Reserve rate cut later this month. The Labor Department said the US added 162,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August, well above economists’ forecast of about 56,000. Bitcoin briefly dropped from around $81,300 to $78,600 before recovering to roughly $79,500. The report also shifted expectations for the Fed’s Sept. 1516 meeting. Market odds moved back toward an even split between holding rates steady and raising them by 25 basis points, after comments earlier in the week had pointed more clearly toward a pause. The article also noted that a Blake2bbased version of Bitcoin began seeing initial trading activity, though liquidity remained thin.