[Bitcoin Now] Slight Decline Ahead of US Employment Report Release... Hovering Around $22,000

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Myunghwan Lee] Bitcoin prices have slightly declined as investors remain cautious ahead of the release of the U.S. employment report.

According to the global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 10:50 a.m. on the 5th, Bitcoin was priced at $22,786 (approximately 29.62 million KRW), down 1.72% from the previous day.

Bitcoin prices are estimated to have fallen due to concerns that employment indicators may also slow down following an increase in U.S. unemployment claims. The U.S. Department of Labor announced on the 4th (local time) that new unemployment claims for the week of the 24th to the 30th of last month totaled 260,000, an increase of 6,000 from the previous week. The upcoming employment report is attracting investor attention as it could be a key factor in determining the Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate hike magnitude at the September Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

Hawkish remarks from Fed officials also appear to have negatively impacted Bitcoin investors' sentiment. Loretta Mester, President of the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank, stated that she supports further interest rate hikes until inflation begins to decline. She emphasized the need to observe a few months of easing inflationary pressures before being confident that the Fed has made progress.

On the same day, Dunamu, the operator of the domestic cryptocurrency exchange Upbit, reported its Digital Asset Fear & Greed Index at 52.21, indicating a 'neutral' stage. This is a slight decrease of 0.10 from the previous day's 52.31 ('greed'). Dunamu's Digital Asset Fear & Greed Index is divided into stages: 'Extreme Fear (0?20)', 'Fear (20?40)', 'Neutral (40?60)', 'Greed (60?80)', and 'Extreme Greed (80?100)'. A greed direction indicates increased buying interest among market participants, whereas a fear direction reflects a fear of asset decline, leading to market exits and a chain reaction of price drops.

Meanwhile, U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has formed a partnership with BlackRock, the world's largest asset management firm. As a result, some of BlackRock's clients can access cryptocurrency trading and other services through BlackRock's investment management programs. Although Coinbase's stock price surged by 10%, it did not significantly affect Bitcoin prices. Cryptocurrency-focused media outlet CoinDesk reported that despite this positive development, Bitcoin prices continued to decline. Barry Silbert, CEO of Digital Currency Group, tweeted, "It's surprising that Bitcoin prices didn't move on this news. This is a 'game changer.'"

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.