Bitcoin Stabilizes After Volatile Friday
Bitcoin found some stability after a significant selloff on Friday, which was prompted by a strong U.S. jobs report. The cryptocurrency briefly dipped below $60,000 but managed to bounce back to around $61,000 by mid-morning in Asia on Saturday.
Initially, the token dropped to $59,227 before buyers stepped in, bringing it back to approximately $61,000, marking a decline of about 1.3% for the day.
This recent movement happened at a critical point that traders were closely monitoring. Throughout the week, Bitcoin had been trending downward towards the $60,000 mark, impacted by record outflows from ETFs and a significant sale by Strategies that removed crucial buyer support. Despite the overnight dip below $60,000, the price didn’t collapse further, rebounding over $1,500 from its lowest point.
The decline was initiated outside the cryptocurrency market. The solid nonfarm jobs report did not lead to celebration; instead, it prompted a harsh reassessment of the Federal Reserve’s stance. The current forecasts now fully account for rate hikes extending through the end of 2026, a shift from expectations of rate cuts under the newly appointed Chairman Kevin Warsh. Consequently, the two-year Treasury yield rose by 12 basis points to 4.16%, the dollar strengthened, and riskier assets took a hit.
AI trading took a significant blow, with the Nasdaq 100 index experiencing approximately a 5% drop—its worst decline since April 2025. Semiconductor benchmarks fell by 10%, while the S&P 500 dropped 2.6%, marking the end of its ten-week winning streak.
Other cryptocurrencies also faced declines this week. Ether dropped 21.6% to around $1,575, and Solana fell 23.7% to $63. Other tokens like XRP, Dogecoin, and BNB lost between 13% to 20%. Notably, Hyperliquid’s HYPE managed to perform relatively well amidst the market turmoil but still recorded a 9.9% decrease during this period.
The washout from leveraged positions was substantial. According to Coinglass, about $1.6 billion in positions were liquidated in just 24 hours, involving roughly 308,000 traders, with long positions alone accounting for $1.21 billion. Bitcoin saw $534 million in liquidations, while Ethereum had $423 million. Zcash, facing its 44% plunge due to a bug in Orchard’s Privacy Pool, recorded an additional $115 million in liquidations.
Now, with Bitcoin having quickly climbed back above $60,000 after the overnight drop, the lingering question is whether it can continue to rise or if it must retest this level, which could lead to another decline. A complete breakdown below $60,000 would push the token back into the territory last seen during February’s downturn.
