Bitcoin traded higher after January’s U.S. employment report topped forecasts, with markets focusing on the uneven composition of job growth rather than the headline strength.

The largest cryptocurrency hovered around $67,800, posting gains on the day as traders absorbed the stronger-than-expected payrolls data without a sharp pullback. The lack of an aggressive selloff is being viewed by some as a sign that downside momentum may be fading, even as macro conditions remain restrictive.

The U.S. economy added 130,000 jobs in January, well above expectations for 70,000. The surprise reduced the probability of an early interest-rate cut from the Federal Reserve, with policy easing now seen as more likely around midyear.

Ordinarily, diminishing rate-cut odds would pressure risk-sensitive assets such as crypto. However, the report showed hiring was heavily concentrated in health care and a limited set of adjacent sectors, while most other industries saw little change. That breakdown suggests the strong headline figure may be obscuring broader signs of moderation in the labor market.

Bitcoin’s steady performance stands in contrast to deeply pessimistic sentiment readings. The Crypto Fear & Greed Index has fallen to 5, its lowest level since the 2022 failure of FTX, highlighting the disconnect between fragile investor mood and resilient price action.

Derivatives trends

Futures data indicates that bearish pressure may be stabilizing. Open interest is holding near $15.8 billion, while perpetual funding rates have shifted back toward neutral or modestly positive levels.

Funding remains constructive on major exchanges such as Bybit and Binance, though Hyperliquid continues to reflect relatively cautious positioning. Meanwhile, the three-month futures basis is stuck around 2%, signaling that institutional conviction has yet to meaningfully accelerate alongside retail-driven flows.

In the options market, defensive positioning persists. The one-week 25-delta skew slipped to 19%, with put contracts accounting for 54% of daily volume. At the same time, implied volatility has moved into short-term backwardation, indicating traders are paying up for near-term downside protection.

Data from Coinglass shows $342 million in liquidations over the past 24 hours, split nearly evenly between long and short positions. Bitcoin accounted for the largest share, followed by ether and other tokens. Binance’s liquidation heatmap identifies $68,800 as a key upside level that could trigger additional forced buying if breached.

Institutional push into DeFi

Separately, BlackRock is expanding its presence in decentralized finance by listing its $2.2 billion tokenized U.S. Treasury fund, BUIDL, on Uniswap. The integration allows DeFi users to gain exposure to Treasury yields through the decentralized exchange.

The move marks the first time the asset management giant has introduced a tokenized product on a decentralized platform. BlackRock also disclosed a strategic investment in Uniswap and acquired an undisclosed amount of UNI, the exchange’s governance token.

UNI rallied sharply following the announcement before retracing part of the move. The development appears to represent the first direct governance-token investment in a DeFi protocol by a major traditional financial institution.

To enable the launch, BlackRock partnered with Uniswap Labs and compliance firm Securitize. BUIDL trades will be routed through UniswapX, an offchain quoting system that aggregates pricing from approved market makers before settling transactions onchain.

Participation is limited to qualified investors vetted by Securitize to ensure compliance with U.S. securities regulations.