Crypto Markets Drop After US Jobless Claims Report

Crypto markets dropped slightly on Thursday morning following the release of the latest U.S. jobless claims report.

The Labor Department reported that unemployment benefit claims decreased compared to the previous week, reaching 222,000 for the week of May 12 — slightly above the Dow Jones forecast of 220,000.

Bitcoin (BTC) is trading at $65,600, up 1% in the last 24 hours. Ether (ETH) dipped back under $3,000, while Solana (SOL) soared by nearly 5%, according to CoinGecko data.

Lower unemployment claims are often seen as a sign of economic stability. A stable economy generally fosters investor confidence, which can extend to riskier assets like cryptocurrencies.

Michael Van de Poppe, CEO of MN Trading, expressed optimism about Bitcoin's recent performance and its potential impact on altcoins. He tweeted, “This period is where I think Altcoins will start to accelerate, as confidence comes back into the markets.”

According to CoinGlass, 59,463 traders were liquidated in the past 24 hours, totaling $148 million. The largest single liquidation occurred on OKX, involving the ETH-USD swap, valued at $3.25 million.

At the time of writing, CoinGlass data shows that the majority of potential short futures liquidations will take place at the $66,000 mark. Short liquidations occur when traders who have bet against a rising asset price (short sellers) are forced to close their positions, typically causing further price increases.

Crypto stocks decline

Coinbase Global (COIN) shares dropped around 6%, while crypto miners Riot Platforms Inc (RIOT) and Marathon Digital (MARA) declined by 2%.

However, the broader U.S. stock market continues to hit all-time highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average increased by 0.2%, along with similar gains of 0.2% each for the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite.