Live Updates: Bitcoin Holds Near $84K Ahead of U.S. Jobs Report

Bitcoin remained close to $84,000 as the fourth quarter began, with traders turning their attention to Friday’s U.S. employment report and the latest moves in global bond markets.

Euro Slips as French Bond Yields Rise

The euro weakened against the U.S. dollar as a sharp rise in French government bond yields revived concerns about stress in European sovereign debt markets.

France’s 10-year government bond yield climbed another eight basis points on Thursday, even as Germany’s 10-year Bund yield declined six basis points. The divergence pushed the spread between French and German 10-year debt to 135 basis points.

Credit default swap spreads on French government bonds also reached a 13-year high. By comparison, the French-German 10-year yield spread had generally remained between about 50 and 80 basis points over the past several years.

The euro fell another 0.9% to $1.1231, its weakest level in roughly five months.

Meanwhile, expectations for another Federal Reserve rate hike have declined sharply. The two-year U.S. Treasury yield dropped 7.5 basis points to 4.81%, while the probability of an October Fed rate increase fell to 33.8%, down from around 70% earlier in the week.

Oil Rises on Middle East Escalation Reports

Oil prices moved higher after reports pointed to a possible escalation of the U.S. military presence in the Middle East.

Citing a U.S. official, the Jerusalem Post reported that the Trump administration was sending a third aircraft carrier and another Marine unit to the region.

WTI crude, which had traded below $89 earlier in the session, rose 2.5% to $92.63. Brent crude gained 3.6% to $101.53.

U.S. Manufacturing Expands as Price Pressures Increase

The U.S. manufacturing sector continued to expand in September, although the latest data showed a renewed increase in input-cost pressures.

The ISM Manufacturing PMI slipped slightly to 54.5 from 54.6, missing economists’ expectation for a rise to 55. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The New Orders Index improved to 55.3 from 53.7, while the Prices Paid Index jumped to 77.9 from 71.1 and exceeded the 72.3 forecast.

Survey respondents reported that prices increased across every commodity category, with none recording a decline. The data therefore pointed to continued manufacturing expansion alongside stronger inflationary pressure.

Markets showed little immediate reaction as investors focused on Friday’s employment figures.

NEAR Token Drops 9% After Reported Exploit

NEAR token fell 9% following reports of a security incident involving NEAR Intents.

Crypto investigator ZachXBT reported that NEAR Intents had been exploited for approximately $3.8 million, prompting the service to temporarily halt operations.

The NEAR Intents team later confirmed that its services had been stopped after detecting a security incident. According to the team, the issue involved a bug in how the Omni deposit and withdrawal infrastructure interacted with a NEAR Intents smart contract.

The contract vulnerability was subsequently patched, with the team saying NEAR Intents and near.com were expected to resume operations within an hour.

Treasury Yields Post Biggest Monthly Move in Four Years

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield climbed 53 basis points during September, marking its largest monthly increase since September 2022, according to Yahoo Finance’s Julie Hyman.

The comparable move in September 2022 coincided with a more than 9% decline in the S&P 500 that month. This time, equities proved considerably more resilient, with the index slipping only 0.45%.

Bitcoin also performed differently. BTC declined 3.1% in September 2022 but gained 6.3% in September 2026.

The latest rise in yields remains an important macro factor for crypto markets as investors assess the outlook for interest rates.

Jobless Claims Show Little Labor-Market Stress

Initial U.S. jobless claims fell to 197,000 last week from 198,000 previously and came in slightly below the 200,000 market estimate.

The four-week average also declined, dropping to 200,000 from 202,500.

The data arrived one day before the September Nonfarm Payrolls report. Economists expected the U.S. economy to have added 90,000 jobs during the month, with the unemployment rate forecast to remain at 4.1%.

Bitcoin Starts Q4 Near $84K

Bitcoin gained 42.7% during the third quarter, marking its strongest quarterly performance since a 68.7% advance in the first quarter of 2024. Ether posted an even larger 70.8% quarterly gain, its best performance since rising 160.7% in the first quarter of 2021.

Both assets were roughly unchanged at the start of the fourth quarter, with Bitcoin trading just below $84,000 and Ether above $2,700.

Interest rates have emerged as a major macro focus. The 10-year Treasury yield briefly reached 5.362% overnight, its highest level in 24 years, before retreating to 5.282%.

The pullback came as traders positioned ahead of Friday’s September employment report, which was expected to show 90,000 new jobs and an unemployment rate of 4.1%.

With Bitcoin holding near $84,000, the jobs data could provide another important input for expectations around U.S. monetary policy and the direction of risk assets heading further into the fourth quarter.

About The Author