Virtual asset prices are falling across the board. Analysts say the slide stems from concerns that an early rate cut will be difficult after U.S. labor market conditions proved more resilient than expected.
As of 8:30 a.m. on the 12th, on CoinMarketCap, a global coin price tracker, Bitcoin was down 2.37% from 24 hours earlier at $66,992. The Bitcoin price at one point fell to $65,757, breaking below the $66,000 level.
Over the same period, Ethereum was down 3.76% at $1,936. XRP (Ripple) was down 2.37% at $1.36, and Solana was down 4.28% at $79.
This reflects the impact of last month's jobs report released before the market opened that day. The Bureau of Labor Statistics under the U.S. Department of Labor said that nonfarm employment increased by 130,000 last month. That was not only a sharp jump from 48,000 in Dec., but also far above the Dow Jones forecast of 50,000.
The unemployment rate was 4.3%, down from 4.4% the previous month. With the labor market unexpectedly strong, some say hopes for an early rate cut have evaporated.