Bitcoin slid again a day after reclaiming $80,000. Bitcoin (BTC) was down 1.97 percent from a day earlier at $79,759, according to Coin360 on Friday. Ethereum (ETH) fell 2.03 percent to $2,453, and Ripple (XRP) slid 4.77 percent to $1.3992. Solana (SOL) dropped 2.97 percent to $101.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) fell 0.7 percent. Dogecoin (DOGE) fell 4.33 percent. BTC dominance held at 59.47 percent.

The direct catalyst for the decline was U.S. August employment data released on Thursday local time. Nonfarm payrolls rose 162,000, about three times a Reuters consensus of 56,000, and beat forecasts from all economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent.

Right after the release, the probability of a 25 basis-point rate hike at the Sept. 15-16 FOMC meeting jumped to 59 percent from 52 percent. The dollar strengthened as the 2-year Treasury yield rose. Bitcoin traded above $81,000 before the data, then quickly slid to as low as $78,649. Some $757 million worth of crypto positions were liquidated in the process. Gold fell 2 percent to $4,383.

Martin Lee (마틴 리), head of market insights at DWF Labs, pointed out that "strong employment supports Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's diagnosis of the economy and fuels fears of rate hikes." Fabian Dori (파비안 도리), chief investment officer at Sygnum Bank, said "a rebound in employment does not end the rate debate, but strengthens the hawkish rationale."

The drop effectively reversed a rally a day earlier, when Bitcoin regained $80,000 after Fed Governor Christopher Waller said he could support holding rates if inflation continues to slow. Markets are watching next week's August CPI release and the FOMC decision on the 16th as the next turning point.