Bitcoin Falls to Around $67,000 as Solid U.S. Jobs Data Dents Rate-Cut Hopes [Crypto Briefing]

[Financial News] Bitcoin fell to around $67,000 on the 12th. The drop is seen as a reaction to stronger-than-expected U.S. employment data, which has dampened expectations for interest rate cuts.
According to global crypto data platform CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin was trading around $67,000 as of 10:10 a.m. that day, down 2.11% over the previous 24 hours. Over the past week, Bitcoin has fallen 7.5%.
In the Korean won market, Bitcoin is trading at around 99 million won. Based on data from global crypto market comparison platform Cryprice, the so-called Korea premium stands at 1.97%.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced on the 11th local time that nonfarm payrolls increased by 130,000 in January, beating the market consensus of 68,000–70,000. With employment proving more resilient than feared, markets now see a lower likelihood of interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve System (Fed).
Ha Geon-hyeong, a researcher at Shinhan Investment & Securities, said, "As downside risks in the labor market have eased, the justification for an early rate cut by the Fed has weakened." He predicted, "The Fed is likely to maintain its current accommodative stance, but extend a data-dependent approach in which it carefully calibrates the timing and pace of rate cuts."
Investor sentiment is deteriorating sharply. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index provided by CoinMarketCap stood at 8 that day, signaling "extreme fear," down from 9 the previous day. The index ranges from 0 to 100, with readings near 0 indicating extreme fear and those near 100 indicating extreme greed.
Institutional funds have also turned to net outflows. According to CoinMarketCap, institutions were net buyers of spot Bitcoin ETFs for three consecutive trading days from the 6th to the 10th, but on the 11th they recorded net sales of $36.75 million (about 53.2 billion won).
At the same time, Ethereum was trading around $1,966, down 2.75% from the previous day. Ripple (XRP) was at about $1.38, a decline of 1.76%.

yimsh0214@fnnews.com Lim Sang-hyuk Reporter