Bitcoin Slides as May Jobs Beat Fuels Rate-Hike Fears and Tech Selloff
Markets snapped a nine-week rally after a blowout May jobs report. US nonfarm payrolls rose 172,000, nearly double forecasts, forcing traders to reprice Federal Reserve rate expectations and lifting rate-hike fears.
Stocks led the downside. The S&P 500 fell more than 2.6% on June 5, ending its longest weekly winning streak since Dec 2023. The Nasdaq Composite dropped nearly 4.2%, its biggest single-day fall since April 2025.
Bitcoin also moved in risk-off fashion. Bitcoin fell over 4% to about $61,900, and some exchanges briefly printed below $60,000—suggesting leveraged liquidations as sentiment turned.
Crypto-adjacent equities tracked the same macro shock. Coinbase and MicroStrategy each dropped around 7%, acting like beta exposure to Bitcoin and broader crypto risk.
The fiscal impact of the selloff was most severe in semiconductors. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index lost about $1 trillion in market value in one session. Nvidia shares fell over 6%, while AMD, Intel, Micron, and Broadcom dropped roughly 8% to 13.5%.
For traders, the next catalysts are the upcoming CPI print and any Fed forward guidance. If inflation also runs hot alongside strong employment, further rate repricing could pressure risk assets, keeping Bitcoin and related trades sensitive to macro data.
Bearish
A hot May jobs report shifts the macro regime toward higher-for-longer rates. That typically pressures risk assets simultaneously: equities unwind growth/rate-cut expectations, and Bitcoin tends to trade as a risk proxy during sharp macro dislocations. The article notes Bitcoin’s drop below key levels (near $60,000) and brief prints under that threshold, consistent with leveraged liquidation adding mechanical downside.
In similar past “strong jobs + hawkish repricing” setups, crypto often experiences short-term weakness as volatility rises and correlations with Nasdaq/tech strengthen. The immediate impact is likely continued downside or choppy, risk-off trading until the next CPI and Fed comments clarify whether the rate trajectory is accelerating.
Longer term, the direction depends on whether inflation cools after this repricing. If CPI later eases, markets may rotate back toward rate-cut expectations, reducing pressure on Bitcoin. But if inflation remains hot, the elevated yields/rate-hike fears can keep sentiment bearish and make rebounds sellable.