• Bitcoin (BTC) surged to a new high of $17,000, due to indications that the Federal Reserve may slow down its aggressive rate tightening.
• Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) both surged by more than 30 percent in the same period.
• The December Non-Farm Payrolls report showed better-than-expected results, with the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent and additional 223,000 jobs, 23,000 higher than analysts‘ forecasts.

The crypto market has been on a roller-coaster ride since the start of the year, and Bitcoin (BTC) has been leading the surge. Despite the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) December rate hikes by 50 basis points, BTC surged to a new high of $17,000 and is now trading at the $17,000 level for the first time this year. This surge came after indications that the Fed may slow down its aggressive rate tightening, which caused a surge in prices of bonds, stocks, and BTC alike.

The Non-Farm Payrolls report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is usually the significant determinant of the inflation rate hike by the US Fed. However, the 90 minutes after the sharp drop in the ISM non-manufacturing index, the prices of both Solana (SOL) and Cardano (ADA) soared by more than 30 percent. The ISM services index dropped from 56.5 to 49.6, which is the first time the index won’t exceed 50 since May 2020.

The December Non-Farm Payrolls report showed better-than-expected results, with the unemployment rate at 3.5 percent and additional 223,000 jobs, 23,000 higher than analysts‘ forecasts. Although the number of new jobs was significantly reduced compared to the 300,000, which was often the case until June 2022. The new orders subindex in the report dropped sharply from 56 to 45.2.

The crypto market’s surge in prices can be attributed to the combination of the Fed’s potential to slow down its aggressive rate tightening and the better-than-expected results from the December Non-Farm Payrolls report. These events have been instrumental in pushing BTC to a new high and SOL and ADA to surge by more than 30 percent. As the crypto market continues to show resilience, it will be interesting to see what other events will shape the market in the coming months.