Bitcoin back above $61,000 after jobs-driven rout sparks $1.6B liquidations
Bitcoin is back above $61,000 after an overnight dip and a sharp risk-off move across global markets. Bitcoin briefly fell to $59,227, then recovered to around $61,000 in Saturday Asian trading, down about 1.3% on the day.
The selloff was triggered by a strong U.S. jobs report on Friday. Instead of supporting risk assets, markets repriced the Federal Reserve path toward “higher-for-longer” rates. Two-year Treasury yields jumped to 4.16% (up 12 bps) and the dollar rose, dragging stocks and crypto together. The Nasdaq 100 slid about 5% and chipmakers fell roughly 10%.
Bitcoin’s drop also reflected crypto-specific supply pressure from ETF outflows and a Strategy-related bitcoin sale since 2022.
Leverage unwound aggressively: about $1.60 billion in positions were liquidated over 24 hours across roughly 308,000 traders, per CoinGlass. Long liquidations accounted for about $1.21 billion. Bitcoin saw about $534 million liquidated and ether about $423 million. Zcash added roughly $115 million in liquidations amid a disclosed bug tied to its Orchard privacy pool.
On the broader week, major tokens stayed deeply red: ETH down 21.6%, SOL down 23.7%, while XRP, DOGE and BNB fell 13%–20%. HYPE was also down ~9.9%.
Traders now watch $60,000 closely: piercing it overnight but quickly reclaiming it raises the key question of whether Bitcoin can build on the bounce or faces a retest.
Neutral
Bitcoin’s rebound above $61,000 signals buyers absorbed the immediate selloff, but the catalyst remains macro-driven and leverage was aggressively purged. The jobs data shift toward “higher-for-longer” typically pressures risk assets and can cap sustained rallies, similar to past episodes where hotter-than-expected U.S. data lifted yields and triggered broad crypto drawdowns.
In the short term, the key level is technical: $60,000 was pierced and then reclaimed quickly. That often creates a choppy mean-reversion environment, with traders watching for either continuation above $61,000 or a failed retest that turns into another leg lower.
In the longer term, liquidation-heavy moves can temporarily reduce over-leverage and clear “crowded” positions, which may stabilize volatility. However, continued ETF outflows and ongoing macro tightening expectations keep upside fragile, making upside follow-through less certain unless rates expectations ease.
Overall, the news is best read as a volatility reset rather than a clear trend reversal, hence a neutral stance.