Bitcoin tumbled to its lowest level since October 2024 on Friday, falling to around US$61,700 after a surprisingly strong US employment report slammed the door on near-term interest rate cuts. The largest cryptocurrency briefly touched US$61,000, a drop of 3.9% for the day, as investors rushed to price out any chance of looser monetary policy from the Federal Reserve. The selloff was set off by the May payrolls data, which showed the creation of 172,000 jobs, more than double the market consensus of 80,000 to 85,000. A hotter labor market means the Fed is far less likely to lower borrowing costs at upcoming meetings, a scenario that historically weighs on risk assets like digital currencies.
US Jobs Report Dashes Rate-Cut Bets
The payroll number, released earlier Friday, shocked a market that had been pricing in a growing probability of a cut later this year. With the economy still adding jobs at a robust pace, the central bank’s new chairman, Kevin Warsh, now faces a less forgiving backdrop heading into the June 16–17 Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Caroline Mauron, cofounder of Orbit Markets, told Bloomberg that the critical support level of US$60,000 had previously served as a strong floor in February and hadn‘t been seen since 2024, before the election of Donald Trump. A clean break below that threshold, she warned, would be “prejudicial” for sentiment in the crypto space.
Bitcoin’s Extended Losing Streak Deepens
The latest drop extends what is now Bitcoin’s longest losing streak since August 2025, a slide that began on Monday after Strategy disclosed its first small sale of Bitcoin since 2022. Since then, a steady outflow of capital from spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds in the United States has compounded the downward pressure. At the same time, US stock markets continue to hit all-time highs, driven by euphoria around artificial intelligence, creating a stark divergence that is eroding confidence in crypto. Dean Chen, an analyst at the brokerage Bitunix, told Bloomberg that as global capital flows overwhelmingly into AI and large-cap tech stocks, digital assets are being forced to compete with those high-growth sectors for investor allocation. The result: Bitcoin lost 15.6% over the past seven days.
Ethereum Craters to Multi-Month Low
The pain was even sharper for Ethereum, the second-largest cryptocurrency by market value. It plunged more than 8% during Friday’s session, falling to US$1,625, its lowest point since April 2025. By late trading it had edged back to near US$1,665, but the weekly damage was severe: Ether dropped 17.3% over the last seven days. The synchronized rout shows that the negative sentiment is not confined to Bitcoin; altcoins are suffering disproportionately as traders flee risk across the board.
Realized Losses and Whale Activity Flash Red
On-chain data reveals the depth of the selling pressure. According to Marco Aurélio de Camargos, CIO of Vaull Capital, realized losses in the aggregate market surged to US$1.3 billion per day as Bitcoin traded around US$62,000. Long-term holders accounted for roughly 59% of those sales, or about US$770 million, indicating that investors who bought near the cycle top and held through the downturn are now capitulating at a loss. Another alarming signal comes from so-called “whales” — large investors whose moves are closely watched. Deposits of Bitcoin on Binance, the world’s largest exchange, doubled during the week: approximately 8,200 BTC were sent to the platform on June 2 and more than 6,400 BTC on June 4, compared with a monthly average of 1,200 BTC since mid-April. Such transfers typically precede sales.
A Cautious Counterpoint on Whale Deposits
Yet Vaull Capital notes that the reading is not unambiguously bearish. The last time whale deposits reached these levels was during the drop below US$60,000 in February, an episode that marked a local bottom before a recovery. The same data point that signals selling pressure could also indicate exhaustion of the downward move. Analysts are watching closely to see whether history repeats or if this time the selling is sustained.
The $60,000 Line in the Sand
Technically, the US$60,000 level has become the market’s most critical battleground, according to Camargos. A daily close below that threshold would open the door to a deeper slide toward the US$55,000–US$58,000 zone. Conversely, a recovery that pushes Bitcoin back above US$65,000 by the end of the week would be the first sign of stabilization. Rodrigo Paz, an analyst cited by InfoMoney, wrote on Friday that until that happens, the technical picture remains “predominantly bearish,” with all attention fixed on defending the US$60,000 area. Looking ahead, the tone of the Fed’s communication after its June meeting — the first under Chairman Warsh — will likely dictate risk appetite in the weeks to come. Friday’s payroll number has already sharply reduced the odds of a rate cut at that gathering.