Bitcoin climbed above $88,000 on Friday, gaining almost 2% over the past 24 hours, as a much weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report, easing Treasury yields and a raised forecast from Citigroup fueled a broad move toward risk assets. The milestone came as chipmaker Nvidia reached its highest price on record, lifting its market value to $5.7 trillion for the first time ever, according to Cryptopolitan's live coverage of the session.

Soft September Jobs Report Sets the Tone

The economy added just 29,000 jobs in September, nowhere near the 89,000 economists had expected, while unemployment climbed to 4.2% against a 4.1% forecast. August was also revised lower by 29,000 jobs, making September the third-weakest jobs report of 2026.

Wall Street took the numbers as another reason for the Federal Reserve to keep interest rates unchanged in October, and the soft employment figures strengthened expectations that Fed policy could become less restrictive. Labor data carries that weight because employment sits alongside price stability in the Fed's dual mandate, which makes the October meeting a fixed point on traders' calendars.

Bitcoin's Swing From $88,000 to $85,000

Bitcoin pushed above $88, on Coinbase on Friday as traders reacted to the jobs data. The move did not hold. Roughly two hours after clearing $88,000, the largest cryptocurrency dropped by roughly $3,000 to the $85,000 levels, though it remained 1.7% higher over 24 hours and still positive for the Friday session.

Treasury Yields Whipsaw Through the Day

Bond markets changed direction during the session. Treasury yields moved lower in the immediate aftermath of the report, with the 10-year yield falling more than 5 basis points to 5.176% and the 2-year dropping more than 3 basis points to 4.75%. The 10-year was later quoted at about 5.22% before yields turned higher: the 10-year Treasury yield increased 1.8 basis points to 5.252%, while the 30-year climbed 2.6 basis points to 5.629%, keeping longer-term borrowing costs close to levels not seen in decades. The reversal followed Thursday's pullback in yields after their recent run higher. A basis point equals 0.01%, and Treasury prices move opposite to yields. Yields matter well beyond the bond market, too: they set the reference rate against which investors size up riskier assets such as stocks and crypto, which is why the session's swings rippled across markets.

Traders are still assessing the U.S.-Iran conflict, particularly whether it could keep inflation elevated and affect the path of American interest rates.

Stocks Surge as Nvidia Hits Record $5.7 Trillion Valuation

Stocks jumped alongside crypto. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 300 points, or 0.6%, while the S&P 500 rose 1%. The Nasdaq Composite gained 1.6% and hit a new all-time high, with tech futures also up roughly 0.6%.

Nvidia (NVDA) climbed to its highest price on record, lifting its market value to $5.7 trillion. The company's chips power a large share of the world's AI data centers, and its valuation has become a widely followed gauge of spending on artificial intelligence infrastructure. A $10,000 investment in Nvidia made 10 years ago would now be worth roughly $1.58 million. CrowdStrike, Palo Alto Networks and AMD also reached record highs, while Intel and AMD gained more than 3% each.

Citigroup Raises Bitcoin and Ether Targets

Crypto also got another boost from Citigroup, which raised its 12-month Bitcoin target to $113,000 from $82,000 and its Ether forecast to $3,028 from $2,240. Citi pointed to improving crypto activity, a friendlier macro backdrop and returning ETF demand. The bank expects inflows to come back at a slower but steadier pace as advisers and brokerages gradually increase Bitcoin allocations, and it sees another $5 billion flowing into crypto over the next 12 months. Spot Bitcoin ETFs, which won U.S. approval in January 2024, gave advisers and brokerages a regulated wrapper for client allocations — one reason ETF flows have become a closely watched proxy for institutional demand.

SEC Moves to Loosen Institutional Crypto Custody Rules

At the same time, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is moving to loosen some of the restrictions around institutional crypto custody. A new SEC proposal would create a separate set of standards for registered investment advisers, investment companies and business development companies that safeguard digital assets for customers.

The regulator wants to update custody requirements that were written long before cryptocurrencies existed. Under the plan, firms could keep digital assets through self-custody in specific situations, while state-chartered trust companies could qualify to safeguard crypto owned by clients and regulated investment vehicles. The regulatory work is moving ahead even after broader U.S. crypto legislation stalled in Congress, leaving agencies to continue building parts of the rulebook through their own processes. Under standard SEC procedure, a proposal must clear a public comment period before a final rule can be adopted.

CME Group Drops 24/7 Oil Futures Plan

CME Group has walked away from its idea of offering oil futures around the clock after resistance from firms that actually trade the market. The company had been considering a smaller crude contract that would have been one-tenth the size of its current Micro WTI futures product.

CME Group CEO Terry Duffy said discussions with market participants convinced the exchange that opening energy trading every hour of every day could bring problems that had not been fully worked through. Duffy said CME had wanted to create a U.S.-based option operating under Commodity Futures Trading Commission oversight, but the industry was not comfortable moving ahead yet. CME's futures already trade nearly around the clock on weekdays through its Globex platform, so the plan would mainly have extended trading into weekends, when energy markets have historically been closed.

The proposed product had already caught the CFTC's attention. The regulator started examining what nonstop energy trading could mean for the market, particularly during weekends when fewer buyers and sellers are active. One concern was that a quiet Saturday or Sunday session could produce unusual moves in West Texas Intermediate, a benchmark used across global oil markets.

Oil Slides While Fuel Markets Stay Tight

Oil prices were lower. December Brent futures, the international crude benchmark, were down 1.1% at $101.12 a barrel, while December WTI contracts lost 1.6% to $89.41. Brent had finished Thursday at $102.31 after a 4.4% jump, with traders watching possible disruptions to Middle Eastern supplies. WTI crude fell 4% over the past 24 hours to below $90 a barrel, part of a broad market move toward risk assets as bond yields eased.

Fuel markets remain under much more pressure than crude itself. Middle Eastern diesel shipments are running at roughly one-quarter of the level seen before the conflict, while exports of Russian diesel have shrunk to around one-fifth of their May pace. Diesel underpins freight, farming and industry, so fuel-market tightness feeds directly into the inflation picture traders are watching as they assess the U.S.-Iran conflict.

The European Commission said the European Union is not facing an oil shortage at the moment, despite expensive diesel and aviation fuel. The bloc still has substantial emergency inventories available if supplies deteriorate, and officials can bring forward a meeting of the Oil Coordination Group, currently scheduled for Oct. 15, if the situation worsens before then. That session is the next scheduled checkpoint for the bloc's oil supply coordination.

Gold Near $4,200, Silver Above $61

Outside stocks and crypto, gold traded just below $4,200 an ounce and silver held above $61. Gold is traditionally used as a store of value in times of geopolitical and inflation uncertainty — a backdrop that remains in place with the U.S.-Iran conflict ongoing.

Crypto-Linked Equities Mixed as Miners Mostly Higher

Crypto-linked equities were over the place Friday, with Bitcoin miners mostly trading higher even as several of the bigger exchange and-asset names slipped.

Among the larger companies, Robinhood (HOOD) traded at $112.74, up 1.43%, while MercadoLibre (MELI) added 0.66% to $1,696.24. Strategy (MSTR) dipped 0.29% to $160.03, and Coinbase (COIN) fell 3.32% to $183.00. Block (XYZ) gained 0.42% to $74.35, PayPal (PYPL) slipped 0.53% to $52.78, and Circle (CRCL) was down 2.04% at $81.22. Net Holding (NTHOL) rose 0.93% to $36.90, while Nexon (NEXOY) dropped 1.01% to $16.50.

Mining stocks were generally stronger. IREN climbed 2.79% to $41.78, Hut 8 (HUT) gained 3.79% to $89.63, and TeraWulf (WULF) advanced 3.96% to $15.50. Riot Platforms (RIOT) added 0.56% to $19.72, Cipher Digital (CIFR) rose 1.68% to $15.72, and Core Scientific (CORZ) moved 0.67% higher to $16.46. MARA Holdings (MARA) edged up 0.22% to $11.23, Bitdeer (BTDR) gained 3.57% to $11.02, and CleanSpark (CLSK) added 1.84% to $12.75. HIVE Digital (HIVE) rose 2.05% to $2.98, Bit Digital (BTBT) added 0.31% to $1.63, and Canaan (CAN) climbed 3.59% to $0.35.

Elsewhere, Bitmine Immersion Technologies (BMNR) lost 1.72% to $26.27, while Galaxy Digital (GLXY) was barely higher at $23.05, up 0.13%. GameStop (GME) rose 2.45% to $24.70, and Neptune Digital Assets (NDA) gained 3.23% to $0.64. Figure Technology Solutions (FIGR) was almost flat at $28.55, up 0.04%, while Bullish (BLSH) fell 1.72% to $34.19. Rumble (RUM) slipped 0.85% to $7.58, and Alliance Resource Partners (ARLP) added 0.82% to $24.54.

Further down the list, Strive (ASST) eased 0.27% to $30.03, while Greenidge Generation (GREE) jumped 9.74% to $2.14. Securitize (SECZ) dropped 5.46% to $12.99, and Keel Infrastructure (KEEL) surged 5.09% to $3.62. Metaplanet (MTPLF) sank 6.19% to $1.82, SharpLink (SBET) fell 2.40% to $9.35, and Twenty One Capital (XXI) lost 2.22% to $6.60. American Bitcoin (ABTC) gained 3.91% to $8.50, while BitGo (BTGO) added 0.27% to $7.38.

Gemini Space Station (GEMI) dropped 7.89% to $4.67, while Forward Industries (FWDI) rallied 4.28% to $8.16. Meliuz (CASH3) slipped 0.94% to $5.26, and Prenetics (PRE) fell 8.11% to $20.17, one of the sharpest declines in the group. ProCap Financial (BRR) was down 0.26% at $3.91, while Boyaa International (BOYAF) was unchanged at $0.43. Exodus Movement (EXOD) jumped 5.58% to $7.29, and Kulr Technology Group (KULR) gained 2.71% to $2.65.

Bitcoin Group SE (ADE) rose 3.91% to $29.26, Intchains Group (ICG) surged 9.30% to $0.94, and Nano Labs (NA) added 2.33% to $2.20. Sol Strategies (STKE) gained 2.40% to $1.71. At the smaller end of the group, Argo Blockchain (ARBK) was unchanged at $2.25, Genius Group (GNS) added 0.81% to $0.15, and Fold Holdings (FLD) climbed 4.64% to $0.54.

What to Know

Markets leaned risk-on as Bitcoin rallied, weak U.S. jobs data cooled yields and fresh institutional forecasts added fuel to crypto's rebound, even as Bitcoin gave back part of its earlier gains later in the session.

Source: Cryptopolitan