$523M in Crypto Liquidations Following Jobs Report Despite Resilient ETF Inflows

Key Facts

In a move reflecting the sensitivity of digital assets to monetary policy, the cryptocurrency market experienced a sharp decline and massive liquidations following US employment data that came in much stronger than expected. According to reports, Bitcoin's price dropped below $80,000, losing $1,600 in value within three minutes, triggering total market liquidations of $523 million. The US economy added 162,000 jobs in August, significantly exceeding the expected 55,000, raising the odds that the Federal Reserve will hike interest rates.

This sudden shift triggered broad selling pressure across major assets including Ethereum, XRP, and Dogecoin, which plunged 2%, though crypto ETFs recorded strong inflows despite the volatility. Per market data, this wave wiped out hundreds of billions in combined market capitalization from gold, silver, and crypto within 25 minutes. While most assets retreated, Zcash bucked the trend with strong gains, amid unemployment holding steady at 4.1% and July's job figures being revised upward by 43,000.

Markets are now watching how the Federal Reserve, led by Chair Kevin Warsh, will respond to this robust data amid mounting political pressure for rate cuts. Based on market prices as of September 4, 2026, digital assets remain vulnerable to sharp volatility driven by future hints from Fed officials. With no immediate crypto-related events in the upcoming calendar, focus remains on the market's digestion of the labor report and the resilience of institutional ETF inflows.