Bitcoin drifted back toward $90,000 on Friday after an early rally failed to hold, as investors weighed mixed U.S. economic data, rising inflation expectations, and the absence of a key Supreme Court ruling on tariffs.

BTC briefly touched the $92,000 level during U.S. mid-morning trading but lost momentum, sliding lower through the remainder of the session. About an hour before U.S. equity markets closed, bitcoin was trading near $90,300, down roughly 1% over the past 24 hours.

The move highlights a persistent trend over recent weeks, with bitcoin struggling to keep pace even as traditional markets advance. The Nasdaq gained approximately 1% on the day, while the S&P 500 rose about 0.8%. Commodities rallied broadly, led by precious metals and crude oil, and bond prices edged slightly higher.

Friday’s U.S. December employment report offered mixed signals. Nonfarm payrolls rose by 50,000, below the forecast of 60,000, and prior months were revised downward. The unemployment rate, however, fell to 4.4% from 4.6% in November, surpassing expectations for a modest decline to 4.5%.

Consumer sentiment showed modest improvement. The University of Michigan’s January sentiment index rose to 54, beating forecasts of 53.5 and December’s reading of 52.9. One-year inflation expectations edged up to 4.2% from 4.1%, though the measure continues to show sharp differences across political affiliations.

Adding to market uncertainty, the U.S. Supreme Court did not issue a ruling on the constitutionality of the Trump administration’s tariff regime as expected. The case was not included among the court’s published opinions, with further decisions now anticipated next Wednesday.

Crypto-linked stocks largely followed bitcoin lower. Coinbase (COIN) fell 2.3%, Gemini (GEMI) slid 4.5%, and Strategy (MSTR) dropped 5.6%. Miners with exposure to AI infrastructure bucked the trend, with Hut 8 (HUT), IREN (IREN), and Core Scientific (CORZ) each gaining between 2% and 4%.