Bitcoin hits new 10-week high as Trump demands rate cut on US jobs beat

Key points:

• The US labor market is “still holding up” as nonfarm payrolls data comes in higher than expected.

• Bitcoin and stocks head higher as US President Donald Trump repeats calls for the Fed to lower interest rates.

• BTC price action may spark a “liquidity grab” above $97,000, a trader warns.

Bitcoin (BTC) hit new multimonth highs after the May 2 Wall Street open as US nonfarm payrolls data beat expectations.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView
Bitcoin meanders after nonfarm payrolls beat

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD building on $97,000 as markets digested the latest in a bumper week of macro data.

Nonfarm payrolls indicated 177,000 jobs added in April, considerably more than the roughly 140,000 forecast.

“The labor market is still holding up,” trading resource The Kobeissi Letter wrote in part of a reaction on X.

The strong result is ostensibly less bullish for crypto and risk assets as it implies that the labor market is more resilient to tight financial conditions, including raised interest rates, than expected.

This, in turn, gives the US Federal Reserve more leeway to keep those conditions in play for longer, depriving markets of the liquidity influx associated with lower rates.

Despite this, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index were both up more than 1.3% on the day at the time of writing.

In his latest post on Truth Social, meanwhile, US President Donald Trump reiterated calls on the Fed to cut rates — an approach adopted throughout his ongoing implementation of trade tariffs.

“Consumers have been waiting for years to see pricing come down. NO INFLATION, THE FED SHOULD LOWER ITS RATE!!!” part of the post stated, referencing various inflation markers.

Source: Truth Social

As Cointelegraph reported, the Fed’s next decision on rates will come on May 7, with markets overwhelmingly seeing no change to the current regime. The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool puts the odds of a cut next week at just 2%.

Fed target rate probabilities for May FOMC meeting. Source: CME GroupWarning over BTC price “liquidity grab”

In Bitcoin circles, market participants eyed sellers’ response to continued pushes higher through the week.

Related: Bitcoin hodler unrealized profits near 350% as $100K risks sell-off

“Going to be an interesting day ahead,” popular trader Skew told X followers alongside a chart of exchange order book liquidity.

“Sellers have been defending $97.2K & shorts continue to scale into price. Passive spot flow will probably again decide the trend.”BTC/USDT charts with order book liquidity data. Source: Skew/X

Fellow trader Daan Crypto Trades warned that current local highs may end up a ploy to take liquidity before a reversal.

“$BTC Broke out of the $93K to $96K range after price action got compressed for about a week,” part of an X post read prior to the macro data releases. 

“So far it's a similar setup as the week before, but I wouldn't want to see it trade back into that $93K-$96K range or this would just be a liquidity grab.”BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Daan Crypto Trades/X

Another popular trader known as TheKingfisher referenced bid liquidity as a reason for a short-term dip to $95,000.

Trader and analyst Rekt Capital, meanwhile, gave an end-of-week BTC price target requirement of $99,000.

“If Bitcoin continues to hold above $93,500 (as it has been thus far), then price will be positioned for a move across the range,” he explained alongside the weekly BTC/USD chart the day prior.

“However, it's key that $BTC breaks the black Lower High resistance within this Range which is positioned at ~$99k this week.”BTC/USD 1-week chart. Source: Rekt Capital/X

This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.