Why Is The Crypto Market Down Today?

The crypto market slipped on Friday, with the total value of all coins near $2.17 trillion.

It fell as much as 0.38% earlier before steadying to trade mostly flat. Investors are holding back before today’s US jobs report, the week’s decisive data, while a Friday options expiry adds to the caution.

1. Traders Freeze Before Today’s Jobs Report

The market is coiled ahead of the July jobs report, due today. Experts expect a soft print of roughly 80,000 to 100,000 new jobs, with unemployment steady at 4.2%.

The reaction is binary, so few want to commit first. A weak number would revive rate-cut hopes and lift risk assets, while a hot one would hand the Fed’s hike camp fresh ammunition before its September meeting. For now, the total market cap (TOTAL) is strongly holding to the $2.16-$2.20 trillion range.

• Data Day: July payrolls land at 8.30 a.m. Eastern.
• The Box: TOTAL is stuck between $2.16 and $2.20 trillion.
• The Trigger: A $2.20 trillion break reopens $2.26 trillion.

2. A Friday Options Expiry Pins the Market

The second brake is structural. About $2.04 billion in Bitcoin options expire today, alongside the jobs data. Options are just bets on where a price will sit by a set date. When this many expire at once, price tends to drift to the level where the most end up worthless, a point called max pain. Today that sits at $63,500, about 1% below spot. Sellers profit if price lands there, so they buy dips and sell rallies to nudge it that way, holding the range and explaining the flat market.

These options settle on Deribit every Friday, with the heaviest batch on the last Friday of each month. The next major one, on September 25, carries about $6.6 billion, as BeInCrypto’s earlier expiry breakdown explains.

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With Bitcoin trading near $64,300 and no fresh catalyst, that range holds until the data lands.

• Settlement Day: $2.04 billion in Bitcoin options expire today
• Max Pain: Most bets lose at $63,500, right by spot
• The Skew: Longer-dated bets lean bullish, more calls than puts

Coin Spotlight: Ondo (ONDO)

Ondo (ONDO) is a notable loser, down about 7% at $0.35, though it still holds a 7% monthly gain. It broke below a head and shoulders neckline on Thursday, a bearish pattern that projects a drop of about 14%.

However, the breakdown looks shaky. Selling volume has faded since August 6, a hint buyers may be stepping back in. ONDO now sits on a key Fibonacci support near $0.35, and holding it could open a recovery toward $0.37 and $0.39. Losing it would revive selling toward $0.32 and $0.28.

The $0.35 level decides it, with a hold pointing to $0.37 and a break sending ONDO toward the $0.31 pattern target.

• The Breakdown: ONDO lost a head-and-shoulders neckline Thursday
• Volume Tell: Selling has faded since August 6
• Break Line: Hold $0.35 for $0.37; lose it for $0.32

The post Why Is The Crypto Market Down Today? appeared first on BeInCrypto.