An above-average US employment report surprised the world’s crypto markets with a widespread sell-off across them. Bitcoin dropped to around levels of US$115,000, a week low, following speculators shifting away from anticipating rate cuts in the near future. Ethereum and XRP dropped, 3% and 5.3% respectively, in a classic shift of sentiment by investors.
This market flip-flop shock came in the wake of June’s nonfarm payrolls release, which broke expectations. The highly anticipated jobs report also helped light up fear of the Federal Reserve backpedaling on its planned cuts to interest rates, prompting a risk-off scramble out of riskier assets such as cryptocurrencies.
Hot US Jobs Report Sends Crypto Markets Tumbling ( Image Source: CoinGape )
Strong Jobs Growth Shakes Rate Cut Expectations
June’s employment report contributed 235,000 to the US economy, and unemployment fell to 3.7%. This kind of state of health in the labor market defies the notion the Fed would be tightening money policy in the near term. With inflation still available, the central bank is not nearly as pinched to try to ignite by slashing interest rates.
This new reality sat out crypto traders, who had already priced in more dovish policy. The swoon in Bitcoin is similar to a response to this reset, which helped to illustrate just how sensitive digital assets are to macro signals.
Even as prices fell back, blockchain metrics show that this is anything but a blind dump. Such an on-chain indicator still trading significantly above a unit is the Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR). It shows the coins are still being sold for a profit, a consolidating trend close to the beginning of bull cycles and not leaving en masse.
The absence of wholesale liquidation or material transaction losses is evidence that investors are rolling over profits and are not frightened out of the market. It’s more a question of tactical rebalancing and not raw fear.
BREAKING U.S. INITIAL JOBLESS CLAIMS
• ACTUAL: 217,000
• EXPECTED: 227,000
• PREVIOUS: 221,000 pic.twitter.com/8dpjOHkt1J— CryptoSavingExpert ® (@CryptoSavingExp) July 24, 2025
Bitcoin Tests Resistance as Traders Take Profits
Bitcoin had been in the $119K to $120K zone, a very strong resistance zone, before the flip. The drop initiated a cascade of liquidation of long, over-leveraged futures positions, and that took price down.
Sentiment is not entirely negative, though. Crypto futures open interest remains solid and funding rates remain in the green. This means nervous traders aren’t panicking en masse. Stablecoin reserves remain solid also, so plenty of capital is still on the sidelines waiting to be invested when sentiment turns positive again.
Ethereum, XRP and Altcoins Trail Bitcoin’s Lead
As has often been the case, Bitcoin price action seeped over into the broader market. Ethereum’s 3% decline is a sign of its macro sensitivity, and XRP’s staggering decline is likely the result of ongoing regulatory uncertainty and putting its use cases for cross-border payments up against the wall.
Altcoin correction is more of a strategic pause and not a bearish correction. Since institutional demand for cryptos is still strong in the long term, the correction comes across as a healthy breather in otherwise bullish activity by most experts.
Ethereum, XRP Follow Bitcoin Lower Amid Market Jitters ( Image Source: inkl )
Investor Response: Strategic, Not Reactive
Institutional players are resolute even during the crash. Bitcoin futures contracts and spot ETF inflows are strong, which shows heavyweight players to view the crash as normal rotation in the market and not as a sell signal.
Retail traders are also split, some taking profits, and others perceiving it as a dip-buying opportunity. Overall market sentiment is manifesting in the wait-and-see attitude, and not panic selling.
What’s Next for Crypto Markets
As markets digest the jobs report, several indicators will set the tone over the next several weeks:
- Federal Reserve rhetoric and inflation prints over the next few weeks
- Futures open interest and funding direction
- Retail sentiment and stablecoin inflows
- Bitcoin capital flows and outflows compared to other assets
Comprehending these dynamics will be of the greatest pertinence to investors in a market as macro-news-flow-sensitive as crypto-native fundamentals.
Also Read: $735 Million in Altcoin Liquidations Shake the Market
The Big Picture: Macroeconomics Continue to Reverberate
Bitcoin’s drop to US $115K is not a market collapse signal, but a re-setting for the US’s surprising economic strength. Ethereum and XRP trailed behind, reflecting crypto’s tighter and tighter correlation with traditional financials.
With inflation still running high and employment robust, the Fed can keep rates elevated for an extended period of time, killing the hope for a risk-asset friendly policy of easing. But since there is no impending panic selling and underlying statistics robust, this drop will be a glitch, not a trend reversal.
Final Thoughts
The cryptoworld is more connected to world economic events. Encouraging jobs reports have frightened rate-cut wagers, but fundamental data indicates selling was warranted. Crypto markets can recover if inflation cools and central bank mentality reverses.
In the meantime, crypto investors and enthusiasts must search hard for economic indicators of note as well as on-chain activity. Time and again, the short-term fluctuation is always preceded by the next spurt of growth.
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