[Bitcoin Now] US Employment Data and Tightening Concerns Push Price Below $20,000... Investor Sentiment 'Shrinks'

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] As the US employment data showed a solid level, the price of the representative cryptocurrency Bitcoin is showing a downward trend. This is due to the expectation that the Federal Reserve's (Fed) tightening policy will continue based on the employment data.

According to the global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 4:55 PM on the 3rd, the price of Bitcoin was recorded at $19,795 (approximately 26.98 million KRW), down 1.11% from the previous day.

The price of Bitcoin showed weakness as analysis suggested that the Fed would continue its tightening policy due to the solid employment data. The US nonfarm payrolls increased by 315,000 in August. Although this is a decrease compared to 526,000 in the previous month, it exceeded expectations. However, the unemployment rate slightly rose to 3.7% from the previous month.

The US stock market, which shows a synchronized movement, also closed lower influenced by these concerns. On the 2nd (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 337.98 points (1.07%) to 31,318.44, the large-cap focused S&P 500 index dropped 42.59 points (1.07%) to 3,924.26, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index declined 154.26 points (1.31%) to 11,630.86.

Cryptocurrency specialized media CoinDesk stated, "After the US employment data release, Bitcoin price rose to $20,400 but then retreated below $20,000," adding, "Most views indicate that this employment data does not change the outlook for the Fed's interest rate hikes."

Meanwhile, according to the cryptocurrency data provider Alternative, the Fear & Greed Index, which indicates investor sentiment as an index, fell 4 points from the previous day to 21 points (Fear). Alternative's Fear & Greed Index means that a score closer to 0 indicates extreme fear and pessimism about investment, while a score near 100 indicates optimism.

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