Bitcoin climbed above $61,000 on Friday and remained on course for a weekly gain after weaker U.S. employment data eased concerns about an imminent Federal Reserve interest rate increase.
Improved demand for spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds also helped stabilise sentiment across the cryptocurrency market.
Bitcoin Price Recovers Above $61,000
Bitcoin traded 1.9% higher at approximately $61,632 by 01:29 ET, or 05:29 GMT.
The world’s largest cryptocurrency extended its recovery from a 21-month low below $58,000 reached earlier in the week.
Bitcoin briefly moved above $62,000 during the previous session and was heading for a weekly gain of around 3%.
Weak U.S. Jobs Data Supports Bitcoin
Investor sentiment improved after the latest U.S. labour market report showed signs of cooling employment conditions.
The weaker figures reduced expectations that the Federal Reserve would raise interest rates in the near term.
Lower interest rates and borrowing costs can support risk-sensitive assets such as Bitcoin by improving liquidity across financial markets.
Spot Bitcoin ETFs Return to Net Inflows
Bitcoin also received support from renewed investment in U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The funds had recorded several weeks of persistent withdrawals, placing additional pressure on cryptocurrency prices.
According to SoSoValue, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs attracted net inflows of $221.7 million on July 2.
The inflows ended a run of 10 consecutive trading sessions in which investors withdrew money from the funds.
Institutional Demand Remains a Concern
Despite the latest recovery, Bitcoin lost more than 30% during the first half of 2026.
This marked its weakest six-month performance in several years.
A decline in institutional demand was one of the main factors behind the poor performance, particularly as investors reduced exposure to spot Bitcoin ETFs.
Federal Reserve Policy Remains a Key Risk
An analyst at IG said the medium-term outlook will depend heavily on upcoming U.S. economic data.
The main question is whether future reports will be strong enough to push the Federal Reserve towards another interest rate increase.
The analyst noted that isolated rate hikes are uncommon, meaning one increase could raise expectations of a broader tightening cycle.
Ethereum and Altcoins Move Higher
Most major altcoins also recorded gains on Friday as buying spread across the cryptocurrency market.
Ethereum, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency, jumped around 5% to $1,707.89.
XRP rose 3.3% to approximately $1.09.
Solana gained 3.5%, while Cardano surged about 6%.
Among meme cryptocurrencies, Dogecoin advanced 2.6%.
Crypto Market Sentiment Improves
The broad market recovery reflected a combination of weaker U.S. employment data, lower interest rate expectations and renewed ETF inflows.
However, the outlook for Bitcoin remains sensitive to Federal Reserve policy, institutional demand and future economic data.
