Bitcoin extended its decline on Friday at a pace that has alarmed financial markets, briefly falling toward 82,000 dollars (around 71,200 euros) in the morning. Although the cryptocurrency later recovered slightly to 83,800 dollars on the Bitstamp platform, the price remains roughly 4,000 dollars below the level seen the previous night. The drop is partly attributed to new U.S. labor market data, which delivered mixed signals: an unexpectedly strong increase in employment for September, but also an unemployment rate that has risen to its highest level since the fall of 2021.

Uncertainty intensified after it became known that the official U.S. employment report for October will not be published alongside the November data on December 16 due to the recent partial shutdown of government agencies. As a result, market expectations for an interest rate cut by the Federal Reserve in December fell sharply. For the crypto market, this is unwelcome news: when interest rates remain elevated, investors typically shift away from risky, non–yield-bearing assets like Bitcoin and move toward safer, interest-generating financial products. According to market analyst Timo Emden from Emden Research, the market is currently in a clear “sell-off sentiment.”

 A combination of interest rate fears, the unwinding of leveraged positions, and widespread profit-taking is driving investors away. Emden warns that even long-term Bitcoin believers may now be losing confidence, raising the risk that a price correction could evolve into a full-blown crisis of trust. “We are witnessing a slow-motion collapse,” he said. “Every attempt at recovery is met with selling, reflecting a growing sense of desperation.”