Live updates: bitcoin below $62,000 ahead of jobs data as Zcash bug rocks crypto

Live updates: bitcoin below $62,000 as blowout jobs data, Zcash bug keeps pressure on crypto

Zcash plummeted 40% after Shielded Labs revealed a major bug that went undetected for 4 years.

Today's stronger-than-expected jobs report is "the least comfortable outcome for anyone hoping for rate relief," said Fabian Dori, chief investment officer at crypto bank Sygnum Bank.

With inflation still running above the Fed's target and the labor market showing little sign of weakening, the latest data all but rules out a June rate cut, he argued.

Markets were already overwhelmingly expecting policymakers to stand pat this month, but the jobs surprise could further reinforce expectations that rates remain unchanged through 2026, while bringing the possibility of future rate hikes back into the conversation.

For crypto markets, that means the liquidity boost often associated with lower borrowing costs may remain out of reach for longer.

Dori noted that other factors, including potential banking regulation changes and shifts in Treasury cash balances, could still provide some support.

But for now, "a hot labour print is likely the dominant macro impulse," he said.

"April and May were two of the slowest months in the past few years," wrote analyst David Koning, expecting Coinbase (COIN) to miss second quarter revenue estimates by about 5%-6%, with volume growth slipping 15%-20% from the previous quarter.

Koning also does not expect the Clarity Act to pass before the November elections, providing another industry headwind.

"The combo of falling estimates and weak multiples across beat/raise fintechs could eventually bleed into COIN's valuation," wrote Koning as Baird moved COIN to a Bearish Fresh Pick.

COIN is lower by 4% in early Friday trading.

Morgan Stanley — among the lead underwriters for SpaceX's (SPCX) mammoth IPO — is telling investors the company's revenue could hit $3.4 trillion by 2040, reports the WSJ.

That compares to 2025 revenue of just $18.7 billion.

The FT yesterday reported SpaceX lead underwriter Goldman Sachs telling investors that the company's AI division revenue could surge to $322 billion in 2030 from only $3.2 billion last year.

The banks, of course, are among those being tasked with selling a valuation of nearly $1.8 trillion for the Elon Musk-led company. The IPO is expected to take place next week.

"I mean ... come on," wrote noted skeptic Quoth the Raven.

The 10-year Treasury yield has spiked by 6 basis points to 4.54% in the minutes after May jobs numbers blew past economist forecasts. More sensitive to the Fed's monetary policy, the two-year yield has jumped 7 basis points to 4.12%, with the odds of one or more rate hikes by the end of the year rising to about 80%.

In addition to May's jobs adds of 172,000, April and March had combined revisions higher of 93,000. Over the last three months, now, the U.S. has added 565,000 jobs.

Already under some pressure, U.S. stock indices slipped further as the idea of imminent rate hikes gained momentum. Nasdaq futures are lower by 1.3% and the S&P 500 is down 0.6%.

Bitcoin is at $61,800, down about 1% over the past 24 hours.

The U.S. added 172,000 jobs in May, well above economist forecasts for 85,000. April's originally reported job gain of 115,000 was revised sharply higher to 179,000.

The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.3%, in line with estimates.

Bitcoin is dipping a bit more on the strong data, down to $61,800.

Zcash is down 44% over 24 hours to around $298, and the market-structure data suggests the crash came from spot selling, not a leverage cascade.

ZEC saw roughly $118 million in forced liquidations, tiny for a token that nearly halved. Bitcoin and ether each fell only a few percent over the same window yet liquidated more, at $335 million and $278 million.

Traders opened positions into the fall at the fastest pace on record, with the direction pointing to heavy new short interest. Meanwhile, open interest in ZEC terms climbed to a record high on Thursday, breaking the late-May peak.

Earlier, Shielded Labs, a nonprofit developer on the privacy token system, disclosed a critical vulnerability in Zcash's (ZEC) Orchard privacy pool that could have threatened the integrity of the token's supply.

The vulnerability, if exploited, could have allowed an attacker to create an unlimited number of counterfeit ZEC tokens, completely undetected.

"Think of it as someone secretly gaining access to the Federal Reserve's dollar printing press, except in this case, even the Fed wouldn't be able to tell these extra dollars were printed," wrote Omkar Godbole.

Importantly, the vulnerability was discovered with help from Anthropic's recently released Opus 4.8 AI model, raising difficult questions for the entire crypto industry. More to come on that.

ZEC is now down 42% over the past 24 hours.

Bitcoin (BTC) has mostly given up yesterday's modest bounce, returning to $61,900 during U.S. morning hours, down 0.8% over the past 24 hours.

Coming in a few minutes is the U.S. Nonfarm Payroll Report for May. While the interest rate outlook has taken a back seat to other concerns amid this week's crypto price crash, this morning's data will nevertheless be significant.

Markets have swung from the certainty of rate cuts this year to rate hikes as inflation has risen, in part due to surging energy costs. About the only thing that might alter that outlook for rates would be a sizable downturn in the labor market.

If the interest rate outlook does another 180-degree turn (this time back to cuts), it could prove to be a much-needed tailwind to crypto markets.

1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4
5. 5
6. 6
7. 7
8. 8
9. 9
10. 10

The Pre-IPO Perpetuals Category Takes Shape

The Pre-IPO Perpetuals Category Takes Shape

Binance launched Pre-IPO perpetuals May 21. Within days, it captured >60% category share; cumulative volume now ~$400M, with SPACEX dominating at 79%.

Binance launched Pre-IPO perpetuals May 21. Within days, it captured >60% category share; cumulative volume now ~$400M, with SPACEX dominating at 79%.

View Full Report