The price of Bitcoin (BTC) dipped hard on Friday after the U.S. jobs report showed that growth was slightly less than expectations in August. The flagship crypto nosedived below $54,000 to its lowest level since Aug. 5.
Meanwhile, crypto market sentiment has plunged to an over-one-month low as industry pundits warn of a potential deeper BTC price pullback under the key psychological mark of $50,000 as soon as this weekend.
‘Extreme Fear’ Grips Market After Price Crash
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index, a widely-followed indicator that measures the current sentiment in the Bitcoin market, cratered to “extreme fear” levels on Friday. The gauge fell to a one-month low of 22, its deepest dive into the fear zone since the start of August.
The metric dropped to 17 back when Bitcoin’s price plummeted to $49K, observed verified CryptoQuant author Axel Adler on Friday:
“During the mining ban in China, the index dropped to 10%. The maximum drop to 6% occurred during the Luna crash. HODL.”
Notably, the fall in sentiment follows the unprecedented plunge in the Bitcoin price today.
The oldest and largest cryptocurrency is now trading for $54,718, CoinGecko data shows, representing Bitcoin’s lowest price recorded since August 5. It’s down by 5.2% over the past 24 hours, pushing its weekly descent to 8.5%.
Markets reacted to data from the Labor Department showing that the United States added 142,000 jobs in August—lower than economist forecasts of 160,000. Moreover, the unemployment rate edged down to 4.2% from July’s 4.2%.
BTC Backslide To Sub-$50K Impending?
Crypto experts believe Bitcoin’s correction today sets the stage for this weekend’s maiden crypto crash, which will be sub-$50K.
“BTC is heavy, I’m gunning for sub $50k this weekend. I took a cheeky short. Pray for my soul, for I am a degen,” ex-BitMEX CEO Arthur Hayes wrote in a Sept.6 X post.
Veteran trader Peter Brandt presented a similar observation, albeit without specific timing.
Brandt pointed to an expanding triangle/megaphone pattern emerging on BTC’s weekly chart, explaining that a “massive thrust” into price discovery is required for the bull rally to resume following months of sellers being in the driver’s seat.
“A test of the lower boundary would be to 46,000 or so,” the classical chartist posited alongside the illustrative chart below.
