Leading cryptocurrencies bounced back, while stocks fell on Tuesday, as the U.S. unemployment rate hit levels not seen since September 2021.
Bitcoin, Crypto Stocks Rally
Bitcoin climbed back to an intraday peak of $88,170 before easing off a bit overnight.
Ethereum, on the other hand, failed to break over the critical $3,000 resistance, with trading volume down 22% in the last 24 hours. XRP and Dogecoin also saw a relief rally.
Shares of cryptocurrency-linked stocks Strategy Inc. (NASDAQ:MSTR) and Bitmine Immersion Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:COIN) closed up 3.34% and 1.42%, respectively, during the regular trading session.
Benzinga Edge delivers real-time stock alerts, trade ideas, and professional investing tools to help you navigate the market. Find out more about MSTR and BMNR here.
Roughly $260 million was liquidated from the cryptocurrency market over the last 24 hours, according to Coinglass, with long liquidations accounting for more than 50% of the total.
Bitcoin’s open interest fell 3.5% in the last 24 hours. An increase in spot price coming alongside a drop in open interest may indicate short covering i.e, buying back to close an open short position.
Top Gainers (24 Hours)
The global cryptocurrency market capitalization stood at $2.97 trillion, following an increase of 0.71% in the last 24 hours.
Stocks Edge Lower After Unemployment Rate Climbs
Major indexes closed lower on Tuesday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 302.30 points, or 0.62%, to end at 48,114.26. The S&P 500 slid 0.24% to end at 6,800.26. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite was the silver lining, as it closed up 0.23% at 23,111.46.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls rose by 64,000 in November, higher than economists’ expectations of 50,000 jobs. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate climbed to 4.6%, the highest since September 2021 and up from 4.4% in September.
Notably, the odds of a 25 basis point rate cut in the Federal Reserve’s January meeting rose slightly from 24.4 to 25.5% in the past 24 hours, according to the CME FedWatch tool.
Ethereum Can Plunge To $2,000 If…
In a note shared with Benzinga, analysts at cryptocurrency payment company B2BINPAY tied Bitcoin’s ongoing struggles to a “renewed turn toward risk aversion” and greater correlation with technology stocks.
“Given the picture, our base case is a test of the $80,000-$82,000 range if risk aversion persists,” the analysts said. “A more stable recovery would likely require calmer conditions in U.S. equity markets, a slowdown in ETF outflows, and a move back toward the $95,000 area.”
Ali Martinez, a widely followed cryptocurrency analyst and trader, projected Ethereum’s decline to $2,000 or even $1,100 if the second-largest cryptocurrency closed December closed below $2,930
Photo Courtesy: Alexandru Nika on Shutterstock.com
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Crypto’s 2026 Playbook: What Web3 Founders Expect From Regulators, Wall Street, And The Next Market Cycle BTCGrayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust (BTC)$38.76-0.03%Overview$BTCBitcoin$87497.64-0.41%$DOGEDogecoin$0.1316-0.10%$ETHEthereum$2951.90-0.34%$SOLSolana$129.05-0.05%$XRPRipple$1.92-0.37%COINCoinbase Global Inc$251.30-0.52%MSTRStrategy Inc$166.78-0.43%Market News and Data brought to you by Benzinga APIs
