Headline: Bitcoin Tears Below $60K as Strong U.S. Jobs Report and Zcash Vulnerability Rattle Markets
Bitcoin slid under $60,000 on Friday for the first time since 2024, trading as low as $59,909 — roughly 6% down on the day and 18.5% lower over the past week. The move extended a broader crypto sell-off: Ethereum fell about 23% over the week to $1,555, while Solana dropped 22% to $63.75. Bitcoin is now off more than 52% from its all-time high of $126,080 set last October.
What’s driving the decline
- Macro shock: U.S. employers added 172,000 jobs in May — roughly double expectations. The stronger-than-expected payrolls reading pushed traders to price in the likelihood of interest rate hikes later this year, according to CME’s FedWatch tool. Higher rates are typically a headwind for risk assets like Bitcoin.
- Market positioning: The crypto market entered the week already weakened by growing outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs and MicroStrategy’s (MSTR) first Bitcoin sale since 2022, which analysts had flagged as catalysts for earlier losses.
- Security scare: Confidence was further shaken after a major vulnerability was discovered in Zcash, a privacy-focused coin. Developers released a patch but warned they could not yet confirm whether the bug had been exploited to mint unlimited ZEC — a consequence of the protocol’s privacy features. ZEC plunged more than 40% in 24 hours.
Industry reaction
“Strong jobs data kills the rate cut narrative,” said Nicolai Søndergaard, research analyst at crypto analytics firm Nansen. “Bitcoin, already down 15% and sitting on uncleared leveraged longs, has no macro catalyst to recover into, and Middle East tensions are keeping risk appetite soft across markets.”
Broader market spillover
Traditional markets also felt the pressure: the Nasdaq was down about 2.5% from the open, with Nvidia (NVDA) off roughly 4.5%. Crypto-related equities slid as well — MicroStrategy fell nearly 10% and Coinbase (COIN) dropped about 8.4%.
A small respite for ETFs
Notably, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs ended a 13-day streak of outflows on Thursday, adding just over $3 million in net inflows. It’s a modest reversal after billions of dollars left those funds in recent weeks, and overall ETF flows remain negative so far in 2026.
What to watch next
Traders will be monitoring further economic data and Fed messaging for clues on the interest rate path — a key driver for risk-on assets — while the Zcash incident raises renewed concerns about protocol security and how privacy features complicate forensic checks. The episode also fuels an emerging fear that advanced tools, including AI, could be used to uncover further vulnerabilities across blockchain projects.
Bottom line: A mix of hawkish macro signals and a high-profile security scare has knocked sentiment across crypto and tech assets, leaving Bitcoin and other major tokens vulnerable until clearer signals on rates and network security emerge.
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