Bitcoin Pops Off 21-Month Low to $60K as Soft Data Eases Rate-Hike Fears

Bitcoin bounced off its lowest level in nearly two years Wednesday, as soft U.S. economic data and noncommittal comments from the Federal Reserve chair gave respite to a battered market.

The largest cryptocurrency fell to an intraday low of $57,779, its weakest print since September 2024, before rebounding 2.8% to around $60,000, according to CoinGecko data. Even after the bounce, it sits roughly 52% below the record near $126,000 it set in October 2025.

Soft data cools rate fears

The turn followed weaker U.S. data that dented the Fed’s hawkish narrative. Private employers added just 98,000 jobs in June, according to ADP, down from 122,000 in May and short of forecasts. The ISM manufacturing index eased to 53.3 from 54, and its prices-paid gauge tumbled to 73 from 82.1, hinting that inflation pressure may be cooling. Fed Chair Kevin Warsh, meanwhile, declined to signal whether policymakers lean toward hikes in July or September, and the two-year Treasury yield ended flat at 4.15%.

The rebound interrupts a brutal stretch. June was the worst month on record for U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, which shed $4.5 billion, according to SoSoValue data, after Warsh’s first meeting as chair tilted the Fed toward hikes and took rate cuts off the table.

Bottoming out?

Beneath the grim tape, Glassnode argues the market’s plumbing is shifting. Long-term holders have swung back to accumulation and spot orderbooks on Binance and Coinbase have turned bid-heavy, even as more Bitcoin is now held at a loss than in profit. Analyst Chris Beamish framed the conditions as “the early stages of a bottoming process,” while warning that a final capitulation spike cannot be ruled out.

Stablecoins break from the swings

For payments firms, Bitcoin’s swings matter less by the day. Amram Adar, founder and CEO of Oobit noted that a drop like this spikes the crypto Fear and Greed index, which currently sits at 11, marking “Extreme Fear”—but he argues the pain no longer spreads. “Stablecoins aren’t tied to Bitcoin’s volatility anymore,” he said. “We see two distinct needs here: people speculating on price, and people looking for stable, global money.”

For that second group, he said, “stablecoin payments are already part of everyday life,” with demand growing “month over month across all our key markets.”

Whether Bitcoin’s bounce holds may hinge on this week’s U.S. jobs report: a soft number would bolster the case that the Fed’s hawkish turn has peaked, while a hot one could send Bitcoin back toward its lows.