Bitcoin (BTC) Price Revisits December 5 Range Lows as Crypto Market Awaits December Jobs Report

U.S. stock markets were closed Thursday in a tribute to former President Jimmy Carter, but crypto never sleeps and is bearing the brunt of any anxiety ahead of tomorrow's December employment report.

In late-afternoon trading, the price of bitcoin (BTC) had returned to levels not seen in over a month, barely staying above $91,000 and down about 3% over the past 24 hours.

The broader CoinDesk 20 Index is down similarly, but notable underperformers include solana (SOL) and chainlink (LINK), both down by double-digit percentages.

The continued sell-off in crypto follows a major fourth quarter 2024 rally, driven by Donald Trump's victory in November and hopes of a friendlier regulatory environment from Washington D.C.

Another factor propping up crypto was easier monetary policy, with the U.S. Federal Reserve cutting its overnight interest rate by 100 basis points since September. However, this support has waned after a series of economic reports showed the economy and inflation to be much stronger than markets and the central bank anticipated. This has pushed yields on long-term interest rates up by over 100 basis points since the Fed began cutting short-term rates.

Today's selling comes ahead of Friday morning's December jobs report. Another strong data point could lead markets to not only abandon the prospect of rate cuts in 2025 but also begin pricing in the need for rate increases in the coming months.

How low could bitcoin fall?

"BTC, ETH and SOL are now revisiting December 5 range lows and people are starting to accept these levels may not hold," well-followed trader Eugene Ng Ah Sio noted in an X post. "This is when most people panic."

He added that the next support level for bitcoin is $85,000 if the $90,000 level fails to hold.

Joe McCann, founder of venture capital fund Asymmetric Capital, wrote that BTC could be eyeing $75,000 if it doesn't hold the $90,000 line.

Prominent trader Skew noted that Thursday's price decline could be driven by headlines about further Silk Road-related bitcoin sales. In a separate post analyzing Binance order book data, Skew added that bid liquidity ready to buy up bitcoin at prices below the current levels is strong, outpacing sellers.

"Something to note here is the lack of volatility behind price here, which is partly the sell flow not being sizable, and the amount of bid liquidity which outstrips current sell pressure," Skew wrote. "This doesn't look that bad."