Bitcoin traded above $87,000 on the morning of October 2, 2026 in New York, according to Bitcoinmagazine, after a U.S. employment report showed hiring slowed in September and the unemployment rate rose. The coin was later at $85,990, up about 2 percent over a 24-hour period and more than 2 percent over the week.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that nonfarm payrolls increased 29,000 last month and that the unemployment rate came in at 4.2 percent, higher than expectations. The prior two months were revised downward. Softer jobs data tends to lift riskier assets, including bitcoin and stocks, because a cooling labor market can ease pressure on consumer prices and reduce the case for the Federal Reserve to keep raising interest rates to fight inflation.
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Key facts
- Bitcoin rose above $87,000 on Friday morning in New York, per Bitcoinmagazine, and later stood at $85,990, a 2 percent gain over 24 hours.
- Nonfarm payrolls rose 29,000 in September, after a downward revision to the prior two months, Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed.
- The U.S. unemployment rate came in at 4.2 percent, above expectations.
- The Federal Reserve’s new chair, Kevin Warsh, has said prices in the world’s biggest economy are too high and that the central bank is focused on making life more affordable.
- Bitcoin has drawn support from exchange-traded fund flows and from the so-called debasement trade, according to Bitcoinmagazine.
Fed messaging splits from the price move
The rate backdrop remains unsettled. CNBC reported that the Fed this month issued its first interest rate hike in three years, with the central bank signaling that another increase could be on the horizon. Minneapolis Federal Reserve President Neel Kashkari told CNBC’s Steve Liesman that price growth was still a concern even after cooler data, saying inflation is still too high and has run at around a 3 percent rate for more than five years.
Kashkari said other data on consumer spending and gross domestic product showed the economy is resilient, and described the labor market as pretty good but not great. He also said the economy’s strength has led him to raise his estimate for the neutral funds rate to 3.25 percent, which he attributed in part to demand for investment capital during the artificial intelligence boom. He warned that if the investment does not deliver the assumed productivity gains, it would amount to malinvestment with consequences for the wider economy.
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Bitcoinmagazine noted that bitcoin investors shrugged off the September rate hike, with the price climbing on the news. The rally began in August after the Treasury Department said it would more than double the size of its government debt repurchases, producing the coin’s best run in three years and its third best August. Bitcoinmagazine reported the coin rose nearly 6 percent over a 30-day period in September, and that October has historically delivered good returns, a pattern traders call Uptober.
Why it matters
The move matters because it shows digital assets trading on macro data rather than crypto-specific news, tying bitcoin’s near-term direction to the rate debate that is also a live political issue ahead of the November midterm elections. Traders holding positions through the autumn are exposed to both the Fed’s next move and the direction of hiring, which can pull in opposite directions.
What to watch
The next test is whether the Fed follows through on the additional rate increase it has signaled, and how upcoming inflation and payroll releases land against Kashkari’s view that price growth remains elevated. Further ETF flows and the Treasury’s debt repurchase program are the other inputs Bitcoinmagazine flags as drivers.
This is not financial advice; cryptocurrency markets are volatile and uncertain, and price moves can reverse quickly.
Sources: Bitcoin Magazine, Cnbc
