Bitcoin set for weekly loss on post-midterms regulatory uncertainty, jobs report

Bitcoin experienced a weekly loss on Friday due to regulatory uncertainty and a strong jobs report that boosted expectations of further Federal Reserve interest rate hikes. Despite a rebound in risk sentiment on Wall Street, the cryptocurrency's gains were limited by the anticipation of stricter regulations under a Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress.

Bitcoin rose 0.4% to $76,031.6 by 17:30 ET (22:30 GMT). The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 165,000 in October, surpassing expectations of a 65,000 increase. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% from 4.2% in September. This strong employment data suggests that the labor market remains robust, potentially giving the Federal Reserve more room to raise interest rates, which could negatively impact speculative assets like cryptocurrencies.

The odds of the Federal Open Market Committee delivering another quarter-point rate hike on December 9 rose to nearly 79% following the jobs data, down from 73% previously. Bitcoin's performance in a Democrat-led Congress is mixed, with the last such period seeing a 43% drop in 2021-2022. However, that period was marked by rising interest rates and several high-profile bankruptcies in the crypto sector.

Despite these challenges, Democrats have called for more anti-money laundering and risk management measures in crypto, which could stifle innovation in the sector. Other major cryptocurrencies, such as Ether and XRP, also experienced losses on Friday.