Crypto News Today: Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP Prices Crash As Zcash Rallies 13%

Bitcoin dropped below $80,000, falling $1,600 in just three minutes, after August jobs data came in far stronger than economists expected, raising the odds of a Federal Reserve rate hike rather than a cut. Bitcoin is now trading at $79,763.95, down 1.4% over 24 hours, while Ethereum sits at $2,461.41 and XRP at $1.41, both negative on the day.

Why Strong Jobs Data Hit Crypto Hard

The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, nearly tripling the 55,000 expected. Unemployment held steady at 4.1%, in line with forecasts, and July’s job figure was revised up by 43,000, turning that month positive as well.

Normally strong economic data would be welcome news. But in this case, it worked against risk assets. Stronger job growth reduces pressure on the Fed to cut rates, and markets quickly priced in a higher probability of a hike instead, according to Bull Theory. The reaction was swift as $835 billion was wiped out from gold, silver and crypto combined within 25 minutes of the data release.

Trump Calls the Reaction “Crazy”

President Trump weighed in directly on the market’s response, calling it “crazy” that stocks fell after a stronger-than-expected jobs report and describing the reaction as living in a “false reality.”