Bitcoin (BTC) Nears $81K as Fed's Waller Signals September Rate Hold

Kospi Extends Rebound to 6,650

South Korea's benchmark Kospi index climbed 1.14% at Friday's open, adding 74.88 points to reach 6,650 as a fresh wave of risk appetite rolled in from Wall Street — a move clearly visible on the index's KOSPI chart on TradingView. The rebound follows a bruising stretch earlier in the week, when Middle East tensions dragged the benchmark sharply lower before buyers stepped back in. The turnaround tracked a broad US advance that gathered pace Thursday after Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller signaled he would be inclined to support keeping interest rates unchanged at the central bank's September 15-16 meeting, holding the target range at the current 3.5%-3.75%. Treasury yields eased on those remarks, and rate-hike odds tracked on prediction markets fell through the week. The dovish tone carried across Asia at the open: Japan's Nikkei 225 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng both started higher, and Korea's small-cap Kosdaq advanced even more steeply than the main board. Crypto caught the same bid. Bitcoin (BTC) last changed hands near $81,000, with Ethereum (ETH) holding the $2,500 area and broad-based risk assets — from Internet Computer (ICP) to mid-cap altcoins — firmer across the board as traders priced a more patient Fed.

Jobs Report Looms as Next Catalyst

Thursday's session set the direction across US markets and gave the Asian open its momentum. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.18%, its best single day since Aug. 4, while the S&P 500 added 1.06% and the Nasdaq Composite rose 1.4%. All three benchmarks are on pace for a positive week, with rate-sensitive technology names — from chip-equipment giant ASML Holding (ASML) down the cap stack — leading the charge as yields retreated. Attention now shifts to Friday's August nonfarm payrolls report, the same data point that has repeatedly moved risk assets after recent monthly releases. Economists polled by Dow Jones expect 53,000 jobs added, a marked swing from July's loss of 23,000 positions, with the unemployment rate seen holding at 4.1%. José Torres, senior economist at Interactive Brokers, argued that continued labor weakness should push the Fed toward an easier stance: “Ongoing decreases in employment should be enough for the central bank to start considering the labor side of its mandate when prescribing policy.” Torres is also watching next week's inflation prints, flagging both the consumer price index and the producer price index as inputs that could cement — or unsettle — the September outcome. Readers tracking the market in real time can follow live spot and futures prices on Binance.

Greed Returns to COINOTAG Data

COINOTAG's aggregate market data shows the Fear & Greed Index at 74/100 — firmly in Greed — with Bitcoin commanding a 68.8% share of our tracked universe's $2.36 trillion market cap. Risk appetite is clearly back; Friday's payrolls print will decide whether it bleeds further into altcoins like Cardano (ADA) and Aptos (APT).