According to CoinDesk, a rally in cryptocurrencies was quickly halted in the late morning hours in the U.S. as traders possibly continued to take profits following a significant rise over the past few weeks. Bitcoin surged to as high as $71,400 before pulling back to the $69,000 level, marking a nearly 1.3% decline over the past 24 hours. Ether decreased by 0.3%, and Solana fell by approximately 2%. The broader CoinDesk 20 index was down 0.6%, with Cardano and Litecoin showing modest gains.
Earlier on Friday, the government reported a notable slowdown in the U.S. employment market, with only 12,000 jobs created in October, the weakest job growth since late 2020. This figure might be revised in November or adjusted higher as the Bureau of Labor Statistics assesses the impact of flooding in the Southeast on the data. Additionally, the ISM reported a 16-month low for its Manufacturing PMI survey, with the gauge dropping to 46.5 compared to the 47.6 expected by economists.
Despite the reported weakness, the bond market showed skepticism, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rising six basis points to 4.38%, its highest level in four months. U.S. stocks, although off earlier highs, remained stronger on the session, with the Nasdaq up 0.7% at close and the S&P 500 up 0.4%. Leading the gains was Amazon, which rose 6.1% after reporting strong quarterly results on Thursday evening.
While the price action in cryptocurrencies has been disappointing to close the week, the sector has experienced a strong month. Bitcoin, for example, remains up nearly 15% over the past 30 days. CoinDesk analyst James Van Straten highlighted the renewed interest in U.S.-based spot bitcoin ETFs. Although these products only launched on January 11 of this year, large net inflows into them have often marked local tops in prices.
