Crypto asset prices weaken across the board amid slowing US employment indicators

Crypto asset prices are on a downward trend. This comes as concerns over the economy grow due to slowing US employment indicators.

As of 8 a.m. (Korea time) on the 3rd, the price of Bitcoin listed on CoinMarketCap stood at $112,634, down 0.5% from 24 hours earlier. On the 1st (US time), it fell 2.17% in just one day.

Ethereum, the second-largest by market cap, plunged 5.67% on the 1st and continued to decline by another 2.39% on the 2nd.

XRP, ranking third by market cap, fell 2.07% on the 1st, showing a smaller drop, but plummeted by 5.64% on the 2nd.

The apparent reason seems to be that the slowdown in the US job market has weighed on crypto asset prices. The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics announced in its employment report on the 1st that nonfarm payrolls increased by 73,000 in July, far below the market forecast of 110,000. The unemployment rate also rose from 4.1% in June to 4.2% in July.

In particular, employment numbers for May and June were significantly revised downward. May was adjusted from the previous 144,000 to 19,000, and June from 147,000 to 14,000, respectively. President Donald Trump abruptly dismissed Erica McEntaffer, head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, calling the revision of jobs data “political manipulation.”

However, as the job market appears to be slowing sharply, concerns about a US recession have intensified.

Amid slowing employment indicators, the New York Stock Exchange also suffered a sharp decline on the 1st.

Written by Hankyung.com reporter Hankyung case@hankyung.com