Employment data revision washes $60B from crypto market cap

The crypto market lost $60 billion in market capitalization during the two hours following revised employment data, revealing a significantly weaker US labor market than previously reported.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announced at 10 AM ET on Sept. 9 that preliminary benchmark revisions showed total nonfarm employment was overstated by 911,000 jobs, representing a 0.6% downward revision from March 2024 to March 2025.

Bitcoin dropped 1.8% from $112,788.75 to $110,793.69 between 10 A.M. and 11 P.M. ET. Ethereum declined 1.6% from $4,346.56 to $4,277.17 during the same period.

Major altcoins posted steeper losses, with Dogecoin falling 4.1% from $0.2469 to $0.2367 and Solana dropping 3% from $218.04 to $211.69.

Other notable declines included Cardano’s 3.5% fall from $0.8839 to $0.8525, XRP’s 2.5% drop from $3.01 to $2.93, and BNB’s 1% decrease from $879.89 to $871.38.

Despite partial recoveries from daily lows, all assets remained below their pre-announcement prices.

Significant revision

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent characterized the revision as confirmation that economic conditions were worse than reported, stating the data brought total job overstatements to 1.5 million when combined with previous downward revisions of 577,000.

Bessent argued that the Fed maintained a restrictive monetary policy based on inflated employment figures. The market reaction reflected investor concerns that the Federal Reserve operated with incomplete data when setting interest rate policy throughout 2024.

The substantial employment overcount suggested the economy required more accommodative monetary conditions earlier than policymakers recognized.

The annual benchmark revision process compares Current Employment Statistics estimates against comprehensive employment counts from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, which derives data from state unemployment insurance tax records filed by nearly all employers.

The 0.6% revision magnitude exceeds the 10-year absolute average of 0.2%, highlighting the scale of the employment overcount. The BLS attributed the discrepancy to businesses reporting lower employment to unemployment insurance records than to monthly employment surveys.

The correction indicated traders view the current landscape as uncertain, although the revised numbers raise the odds of a rate cut in September.

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