Bitcoin, altcoins rise as cooling labor market fails to spook risk trade

A lukewarm U.S. employment report for August sparked a broad crypto rally Friday. Traders appear to have interpreted the stagnant data as a signal for potential monetary easing, pushing Bitcoin above $113,000 and lifting altcoins across the board.

On September 5, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls added a mere 22,000 jobs in August, a figure that underscores a period of prolonged stagnation since spring.

According to the bureau, the unemployment rate held steady at 4.3%. However, the report detailed a landscape of cooling labor dynamics, including a rise in long-term unemployment and a dip in the labor force participation rate.

Within minutes of the 8:30 a.m. ET release, a clear bid for risk assets emerged, propelling the total cryptocurrency market capitalization upward by over $60 billion to flirt with the $3.9 trillion mark.

Crypto trades the macro narrative

According to crypto.news data, Bitcoin (BTC), the sector’s flagship asset, led the charge with a decisive 2.06% climb. It shook off an early dip near $109,347 to breach $113,357, ultimately consolidating its gains just above $113,000. This established a firm bullish tone for the entire digital asset complex.

Beyond BTC, the rally revealed a strong appetite for both established altcoins and high-beta speculative plays. Ethereum (ETH) posted a solid 1.4% gain, but the more telling metric was a significant 6.8% surge in its trading volume, which ballooned to $40.56 billion.

ETH’s spike in activity suggests that while its price movement was modest, institutional and large-scale traders were actively accumulating or repositioning their portfolios, anticipating it to be a key beneficiary of improved liquidity conditions.

The momentum was even more pronounced further down the cap scale. Cardano (ADA) notably outperformed the broader market, jumping over 3.25%. The Layer 1 protocol Sui (SUI) emerged as the day’s standout performer, vaulting 4% to trade at $3.44 at the time of writing.

Perhaps most indicative of the pure risk-on sentiment was the concurrent rally in memecoins. Shiba Inu (SHIB) rose 1.93%, while its counterparts Pepe (PEPE), FLOKI, and dogwifhat (WIF) saw more aggressive inflows, climbing 2.51%, 3.06%, and 3.76% respectively. This uniform green across such a diverse set of assets underscores a market-wide bet on easing financial conditions, not isolated fundamental developments.