Bitcoin falls after brief surge above $95,000

LOS ANGELES: Bitcoin opened Monday on a positive note, with the largest cryptocurrency hovering above $95,000 during the initial trading hours.

At approximately 00:36 UTC, Bitcoin (BTC) was trading at $95,820.50, up by $1,302.06 from its previous close of $94,518.44.

However, the gains were short-lived as Bitcoin began a downward slide after 01:30 UTC. By around 02:52 UTC, it had fallen to $93,952.12, reflecting a loss of $566.31.

As of 04:51 UTC, Bitcoin was down by $22, or 0.023 per cent.

Other cryptocurrencies also faced declines. Ether (ETH) was down by 0.65 per cent to $3,245.59, Litecoin (LTC) dropped 0.94 per cent to $101.43, Dogecoin (DOGE) was down by 0.72 per cent, Binance Coin (BNB) fell 0.76 per cent to $688.06, and ChainLink (LINK) declined 1.17 per cent to $19.61.

Bitcoin’s volatility has been influenced by robust US jobs data, which dampened expectations of Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, causing stock markets to spiral.

The price of Bitcoin fell to around $92,000, reigniting a sell-off that had previously lost momentum earlier in the week amid fears of a potential price crash.

In a surprising move, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk issued a fresh warning about Bitcoin’s price, leaving crypto traders scrambling to assess the impact of changing Federal Reserve rate cut expectations on Bitcoin’s future performance.

“Bitcoin’s drop below $93,000 highlights the increasing influence of macroeconomic conditions,” analysts from Ryze Labs stated in an emailed note. “Liquidations exceeded $1 billion this week, with long positions making up the majority as traders were forced to close out leveraged bets.”

The US economy added 256,000 jobs in December, the largest monthly increase since March, surpassing expectations of 155,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate also dropped to 4.1 per cent.

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