Bitcoin withstands ‘intense anxiety,’ strong employment data indicates stability

Bitcoin experienced an increase following the U.S. jobs report, which showed that employment growth across several economic sectors was limited, despite a significant rise in the headline figure.

UNI increased following BlackRock’s acquisition of the token (appshunter.io/Unsplash modified by CoinDesk)

What to know:

• Bitcoin nearly reached $67,800, even as a stronger-than-anticipated U.S. jobs report delayed projections for Federal Reserve rate reductions.
• Derivatives data reveal a stabilization in bearish momentum and heightened demand for short-term downside protection, with options traders paying a “panic premium” for puts.
• UNI rose after BlackRock chose to list its $2.2 billion tokenized U.S. Treasury fund BUIDL on Uniswap and acquired a strategic interest in the exchange along with the governance token.

Bitcoin BTC$68,072.62 is trading close to $67,800, showing an increase for the day, as crypto markets absorbed January’s stronger-than-expected U.S. jobs report without an immediate selloff.

This resilience indicates a shift in sentiment, with the subdued reaction potentially signaling seller fatigue and a rising appetite for risk, despite a challenging macroeconomic environment. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) has increased by 1.5% since midnight UTC, with all but one token, BCH$515.12, showing an upward movement.

STORY CONTINUES BELOWDon’t miss another story.Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today. See all newslettersSign me upBy signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms & conditions and privacy policy.

In January, the U.S. added 130,000 jobs, nearly double the anticipated 70,000. This data significantly diminished the chances of an early interest rate reduction by the Federal Reserve, pushing expectations to July.

Ordinarily, a decrease in rate-cut probabilities would negatively impact risk assets like cryptocurrencies. However, the report also indicated that job growth was largely confined to health care-related sectors while other areas remained relatively unchanged. This implies that the impressive headline figure may be concealing underlying cooling in the wider economy.

Bitcoin’s strength suggests seller fatigue despite persistently low sentiment. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has reached 5, marking its lowest point since the FTX collapse in 2022.

Derivatives Positioning

• Bearish momentum is stabilizing, with open interest remaining steady near $15.8 billion while perpetual funding rates have reverted to neutral or positive levels.
• Sentiment appears notably bullish on Bybit (+9.5%) and Binance (+3.4%), although Hyperliquid remains a bearish anomaly at -4.5%.
• The three-month basis remains stagnant at approximately 2%, indicating that institutional confidence has yet to align with this retail-driven change in funding.
• In the bitcoin options market, defensive caution is increasing, and the one-week 25-delta skew has decreased to 19%, with puts now making up 54% of 24-hour volume.
• The implied volatility (IV) term structure has transitioned into short-term backwardation, reflecting a “panic premium” as traders seek immediate downside protection.
• Coinglass data reveals $342 million in 24-hour liquidations, with a 49-51 split between longs and shorts. BTC ($145 million), ETH ($84 million), and other assets ($18 million) led in notional liquidations.
• The Binance liquidation heatmap indicates $68,800 as a crucial liquidation level to watch in the event of a price increase.

Token Talk

• BlackRock (BLK) is introducing its $2.2 billion tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, BUIDL, to Uniswap, offering decentralized finance (DeFi) users access to Treasury yields via the platform.
• This represents the first instance of the largest asset manager globally listing a tokenized product on a decentralized exchange. BlackRock also announced a strategic investment in Uniswap and acquired an undisclosed amount of UNI, the governance token of the exchange.
• UNI surged by 25% following this announcement, reaching $4.11, before retreating to $3.35. This marks the first occasion a significant financial institution has directly invested in a decentralized finance project’s governance token.
• To facilitate this initiative, BlackRock collaborated with Uniswap Labs and compliance firm Securitize. BUIDL trades will be processed through UniswapX, an offchain quoting system that obtains prices from approved market makers and finalizes trades onchain.
• Investors are required to be qualified through Securitize, which guarantees compliance with U.S. securities regulations.