Bitcoin reclaims $61,000 after jobs report triggers $1.6B liquidation cascade

Bitcoin is back above $61,000, but the road there was ugly. The recovery, which played out during Asian trading hours on June 6, followed one of the sharper single-day liquidation events of the year, a cascade that wiped out approximately $1.6 billion in leveraged positions across the crypto market in just 24 hours.

The proximate cause was a U.S. jobs report that nobody on Wall Street wanted to see. The economy added 172,000 jobs in June, against an expectation of 130,000. In English: the labor market was too strong, which means the Federal Reserve has less reason to cut interest rates anytime soon, which means risk assets everywhere took a hit.

When Wall Street sneezes, crypto catches a cold

The Nasdaq 100 dropped approximately 5% on June 5, the day the jobs data dropped. Bitcoin followed the broader selloff, briefly touching $59,227 before buyers stepped back in.

Of the $1.6 billion wiped out, $534 million was tied specifically to Bitcoin long positions. Ether contributed another $423 million in liquidations. The overwhelming majority of those positions were longs, meaning traders who had bet on prices continuing higher got caught leaning the wrong way.

The correlation between crypto and AI-related equities was hard to ignore during the selloff. Both asset classes sold off in near lockstep on June 5.

Altcoins had it worse. Ether posted a weekly decline of around 21.6%, while Solana dropped approximately 23.7% over the same stretch.

The macro backdrop keeping Bitcoin pinned

Bitcoin has been in a consolidation phase throughout this stretch, oscillating around and below $61,000 as a cluster of macro forces keep a ceiling on the rally. Federal Reserve officials have been careful not to signal any urgency on rate cuts, and the stronger jobs print only reinforces their patience.

ETF flows have added another layer of complexity. Recent outflows from spot Bitcoin ETFs have chipped away at the buying support that helped drive earlier 2026 highs.

MicroStrategy’s activity has also been on traders’ radar. Reports of potential Bitcoin sales from the company, which became synonymous with aggressive corporate Bitcoin accumulation, have weighed on sentiment.

What this means for investors watching the $60K level

The size of the liquidation event matters for what comes next. Forced selling clears out overleveraged positions, which can actually create a cleaner base for the next move higher. With $1.6 billion in positions flushed out in 24 hours, the froth is at least partially removed from the long side of the market.

For traders, the $60,000 level is now the line in the sand. Holding above it keeps the structure constructive. Losing it again risks another round of stop-loss triggered selling in a market that has already shown it has plenty of leveraged exposure left to unwind.