Bitcoin briefly crossed above $87,000 on Friday, marking its highest level since January as weaker-than-expected U.S. labor market data triggered a rally in risk assets and a sharp retreat in Treasury yields.
The move came after the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the economy added just 29,000 jobs in September, far below consensus estimates, while the unemployment rate ticked up to 4.2% CoinDesk. The disappointing payrolls print immediately fed speculation that the Federal Reserve may need to accelerate its easing cycle, pressuring bond yields lower and lifting demand for non-yielding assets including bitcoin.
According to The Block, the rally gained technical momentum after sellers cleared out a notable sell wall around $85,000, with on-chain data from Glassnode cited in their reporting showing liquidity shifts that enabled the push toward $87,000. The $85,000 level had previously acted as stiff resistance since bitcoin's post-halving consolidation phase began earlier this year.
Bitcoin Magazine reported that the price surge was also underpinned by continued inflows into spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds, which have sustained institutional demand even through periods of sideways price action. The publication noted that ETF flows remained constant heading into the jobs report, providing underlying market structure support that helped the asset absorb selling pressure at higher levels.
However, the initial euphoria faced headwinds as the trading session progressed. Cointelegraph noted that order-book resistance prevented bitcoin from establishing a firm foothold above $87,000 and pushing toward new macro highs. The brief spike above the level represented a test rather than a breakthrough, with derivatives markets showing cautious positioning that limited follow-through buying.
The bond market's behavior added complexity to the risk-asset rally. While yields initially plunged on the weak jobs data, supporting bitcoin's advance, CoinDesk reported that Treasury yields suffered a "major whipsaw" by afternoon, reversing higher after their morning decline. This reversal in fixed-income markets contributed to bitcoin giving back some of its earlier gains, as the correlation between falling real yields and crypto prices reasserted itself in both directions.
At the time of reporting, bitcoin held gains of more than 2% over the prior 24 hours, trading just below the $87,000 threshold. The price action leaves the asset positioned near its highest level since January, though traders are now watching whether the Fed's perceived policy trajectory can sustain momentum through technical resistance that has repeatedly capped advances since the March all-time highs.