Bitcoin slides under $66K on jobs shock

Bitcoin fell below $66,000 twice on Feb. 11, dropping nearly $2,800 in an hour as stronger-than-expected US jobs data dampened hopes for imminent Federal Reserve rate cuts.

The cryptocurrency sank from about $68,500 to $65,719 at 10:00 a.m. EST before rebounding above $67,000 and then slipping again to roughly $65,800, triggering more than $400 million in leveraged liquidations over 24 hours.

The 130,000 jobs added in January, far exceeding projections as low as 55,000, reinforced expectations that the Federal Reserve will keep rates higher for longer, reducing the appeal of speculative assets such as bitcoin.

Adding to volatility were reports that BlackRock moved 600 BTC to a Coinbase Prime address, a transaction often interpreted by traders as a potential precursor to selling despite frequently being routine rebalancing.

Meanwhile, Denmark’s largest lender Danske Bank lifted an eight-year crypto ban citing “increasing customer demand” for digital asset investments, while Binance and Franklin Templeton launched an off-exchange collateral programme using tokenised money market funds, and following the moves bitcoin was up at $67,607 at 2:15 p.m. Eastern time.