Crypto Markets Bounce Back as Investors Look Past ETF Outflows and Jobs Data Drama

Major digital assets recovered recent losses on Monday as investors shrugged off the latest exchange-traded fund (ETF) outflows and political drama sparked by last week’s weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report.

Bitcoin (BTC) is currently trading at $115,260, up 1.1% on the day, after dipping as low as $112,300 over the weekend. Ethereum (ETH) surged about 6% over the past 24 hours to trade near $3,685, after spending much of the weekend below $3,500. Meanwhile XRP rallied more than 5% to $3.07 today, while Solana (SOL) also climbed, rising 3.6% to $167.

Total cryptocurrency market capitalization is currently hovering around $3.85 trillion, up 2.3% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. Trading volume over the same time frame amounted to $108 billion.

Over the past 24 hours, more than $230 million in crypto positions were liquidated, according to CoinGlass, with short positions accounting for the bulk at $179 million. ETH experienced nearly $80 million in liquidations, followed by BTC at around $44 million.

Record ETF Outflows

In the crypto ETF space, spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded over $812 million in outflows on Friday, Aug. 1 — the second-largest single-day outflow since their debut in January 2024. Ethereum ETFs also posted net outflows, albeit a more modest $152 million, ending a 20-day streak of consecutive inflows that broke daily and monthly records in July, according to SoSovalue.

Meanwhile, digital asset investment products overall recorded net outflows of $223 million last week, reversing early-week inflows of $883 million, according to the latest report from CoinShares. The shift was likely driven by hawkish signals from the Federal Reserve, the report notes.

Bitcoin led the outflows with $404 million, though year-to-date inflows remain strong at $20 billion. In contrast, Ethereum experienced $133 million in inflows, marking its 15th consecutive week of net positive flows.

“While the weak payrolls data at the end of the week had dovish connotations for the FED, general risk-off sentiment led to further outflows, with over US$1bn on Friday,” the report reads, continuing:

“Given we have seen US$12.2bn net inflows over the last 30 days representing 50% of inflows for the year so far, it is perhaps understandable to see what we believe to be minor profit taking.”

Employment Data Drama

Experts say that today’s market upswing reflects a recovery following an overreaction to last week’s disappointing U.S. jobs data.

At the end of last week, markets were rattled by a weaker-than-expected July jobs report, which showed just 73,000 new payrolls (well below forecasts) alongside downward revisions totaling 258,000 for prior months. The unemployment rate also ticked up to 4.2% from 4.1% in June, fueling fresh concerns about the strength of the labor market.

Investor sentiment was also made worse when U.S. President Donald Trump abruptly fired Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Commissioner Erika McEntarfer on Friday, the day the report was released.

And then, earlier today, evidently as a justification for the move, Trump labeled Friday’s jobs report “rigged” and dismissed the monthly revisions as “concocted” in a post on a Truth Social.

“That’s why, in both cases, there was massive, record setting revisions, in favor of the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump’s post reads. “Those big adjustments were made to cover up, and level out, the FAKE political numbers that were CONCOCTED in order to make a great Republican Success look less stellar!!!”

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett commented today that the White House plans to appoint “highly qualified people” to the BLS to bring a “fresh start and a fresh set of eyes” to the agency’s processes, CNBC reported.

Meanwhile, after the jobs data was released on Friday, traders responded by sharply increasing bets on a September rate cut, per CME FedWatch data — something President Trump has repeatedly demanded of The Fed.