Bitcoin remained locked in a tight range near $64,000 on Thursday as traders braced for Friday's U.S. jobs report. The largest cryptocurrency by market value was little changed over a 24-hour window, hovering around $64,500. The muted action in bitcoin mirrored broader markets, which have pivoted from a strong risk-on mood to caution ahead of the July nonfarm payrolls release. With investors reluctant to place large directional bets, trading volumes stayed subdued and the cryptocurrency continued to flatline after several days of narrow price movement.

Markets await Friday's jobs report

The focus now shifts to the U.S. Department of Labor's July jobs report, scheduled for Friday. Forecasts call for approximately 80,000 jobs to be added in July, up from 57,000 in June. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 4.2%. The report follows a June print that was seen as soft, and another weak number could cause investors to quickly reduce expectations for a Federal Reserve rate hike in September. Conversely, a strong report could reinforce the case for tighter central bank policy through the end of the year, which would likely weigh on risk assets, including cryptocurrencies.

Thursday's initial jobless claims data offered a hint of labor market resilience. Claims edged up by 1,000 to 199,000, below the 202,000 economist forecast. The four-week moving average dipped to 198,750 from 203,250. Claims around or below 200,000 are historically associated with a very strong labor market. However, nonfarm payrolls have recently been somewhat weaker than the claims data suggest, adding uncertainty to Friday's release.

MARA misses revenue estimates and posts $611 million net loss

Bitcoin miner MARA Holdings published second-quarter results that missed Wall Street revenue expectations, with large unrealized losses on its bitcoin holdings overshadowing modest growth in mining output. Revenue came in at $174.9 million, below the consensus estimate of $204 million. The company posted a net loss of $611 million for the quarter.

MARA mined 2,422 bitcoin during the quarter, up 3% from a year ago. Its energized hashrate increased 22% to 70.3 exahashes per second. However, the company's bitcoin holdings fell 29% from year-ago levels to 35,577 bitcoin. Shares traded flat near $10.60 in extended trading after slipping 5% during the regular session ahead of the earnings report. The results highlight the pressure on bitcoin miners when the price of the underlying asset remains range-bound, as revenue from mining alone often cannot offset mark-to-market losses on digital asset treasuries.

CleanSpark edges lower after Q3 revenue miss

CleanSpark also reported quarterly results that fell short of revenue expectations. The bitcoin miner posted $138 million in third-quarter revenue versus the Street's $149 million estimate. Shares declined roughly 0.5% in after-hours trading.

The company pointed to several strategic developments, including a 20-year, $6.6 billion triple-net lease at its Sandersville facility. CleanSpark said it fully funded its anticipated equity commitment and secured long-lead equipment to keep the project on schedule. Total assets reached $2.7 billion, liquidity stood at $917 million, and power under contract increased to 1.8 gigawatts. Chief Executive Matthew Schultz said in a statement that the company remains focused on the commercialization of its existing assets and the acquisition of scalable infrastructure to bolster its portfolio.

Oxford Economics: inflation outlook keeps markets guessing

Oxford Economics said markets are at an important juncture, with investors trying to determine whether inflation will continue to slow or remain stubbornly high. This week's data, particularly Friday's U.S. jobs report, could influence expectations for interest rates and the Federal Reserve's next moves.

Bond yields continue to be relatively elevated because of the U.S. government's borrowing, keeping long-term borrowing costs high even though markets expect fewer interest rate increases than they did a few weeks ago. Investors are also listening closely to comments from Federal Reserve officials for clues about their commitment to bringing inflation back to target. The Financial Times reported Thursday morning that Fed Chair Kevin Warsh was prepared to raise interest rates in September if inflation fails to ease over the coming weeks and bond markets remain under pressure.

Over a longer horizon, Oxford Economics expects inflation to ease as services price increases slow, the effects of tariffs fade, and supply chains improve. If that happens, the Fed may be able to leave interest rates unchanged for an extended period, creating a more stable backdrop for stocks, bonds, and the broader economy even if markets remain choppy in the short term.

Oil and bond yields surge on Hormuz plan details

Oil prices jumped and bond yields moved higher after reports surfaced of a joint Iran/Omani plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. One notable proposal in the plan would prohibit the passage of vessels belonging to the U.S., Israelis, and other hostile countries through the strait, which analysts described as a non-starter. West Texas Intermediate crude rose 3.3% on the day to $77.70 per barrel. The move sent interest rates higher, with the two-year U.S. Treasury note yield climbing six basis points to 4.24%.

Equity markets gave back some early gains as higher oil prices stoked inflation concerns. The Nasdaq slipped from a modest gain to a modest loss, down 0.15%. Bitcoin continued to flatline around $64,500, showing little reaction to the geopolitical headlines. A reopening of the Strait of Hormuz would likely pressure oil prices lower, ease inflation worries, and give Treasury yields and the dollar room to fall, a setup that risk assets generally welcome. But the path from the proposal to an actual deal remains highly uncertain.

SpaceX gains on share unlock day and announces Texas Terafab

SpaceX rallied on Thursday as nearly 1 billion shares became available to sell, a market event that investors had been anticipating for weeks. The stock traded around $112.35, up almost 4%, after having plunged more than 30% over the past month and more than 50% from its mid-June record high. In premarket trading, SpaceX had risen 3.85% to $112.44, clawing back part of Wednesday's 13.6% drop to $108.27.

Thursday marked the expiration of the stock's first lockup, freeing up to 911.5 million insider shares, worth more than $100 billion, to trade for the first time. Because the share price had already fallen sharply in the weeks leading up to the unlock, much of the selling pressure may have been front-loaded. The real test is not whether insiders sell, but whether the market can absorb the newly tradable supply without further damage.

In a separate announcement, SpaceX and Tesla said their massive chip-building Terafab will be located in Grimes County, Texas. The initial investment is expected to be $16.8 billion, though the final amount is likely to be several multiples of that figure. The companies said their combined demand for chips is expected to exceed one terawatt of compute, which they described as significantly larger than the current global supply.

Mag 7 stocks lift Nasdaq while AI storage names tumble

Technology stocks were mixed on Thursday, with the Nasdaq managing a modest gain thanks to strength in megacap names. Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Meta were all up roughly 1% about an hour into the trading session. The broader tech market remained resilient even as SanDisk and Western Digital tumbled following their earnings reports, falling 5% and 12%, respectively. The damage, for now, did not spread to other parts of the tech sector.

SpaceX also contributed to the upbeat tone, trading 1.8% higher around $110 before extending gains later in the day. Trading overall was expected to stay muted ahead of Friday's employment data. The market's reaction to the jobs report will likely set the tone for risk assets in the coming weeks, with crypto increasingly correlated to equity market sentiment.

Altcoins outperform in a selective market

While bitcoin remained flat, several smaller tokens posted sharp gains. MemeCore's M token rose 24% over seven days, Pump.fun's PUMP climbed 20%, and Cardano's ADA advanced 15%. These moves point to pockets of strength and selective capital allocation rather than a broad risk-on shift, according to market observers. Gains concentrated in meme tokens, however, offer poor optics for a market still trying to climb out of a deep bear phase.

The lopsided performance suggests traders are looking for asymmetric opportunities outside of the largest digital assets, but the absence of broad participation may limit the durability of these moves.

CLARITY Act odds fall as strategist sees upside surprise

The CLARITY Act, which would settle the question of crypto regulation in Washington, is down to its final days before the Senate breaks. Joel Kruger, a markets strategist at LMAX Group, said the market has stopped waiting on the bill. The legislation would split oversight of digital assets between the SEC and the CFTC and set rules for exchanges, issuers, and some decentralized finance activities. It is unlikely to clear the Senate before the August 7 recess, Kruger said, and that outcome is largely priced in.

Polymarket bettors have cut the odds of 2026 passage to 28% from a peak of 82%. Kruger argued that the regulatory backdrop is improving with or without the bill, noting that SEC Chair Paul Atkins has signaled he will provide clarity through agency guidance. He flagged $67,300 in bitcoin and $2,000 in ether as the resistance levels that matter. A convincing break above either would signal a more meaningful upside phase, and until then the consolidation holds.

SoftBank's Intel windfall shows AI trade still concentrated

SoftBank posted an 18% drop in quarterly net income to 347.3 billion yen, or $2.3 billion, which was still more than double the $1.1 billion that analysts had expected. The better-than-feared result was carried by a 1.3 trillion yen gain, about $8.5 billion, on its Intel stake. Intel rose 216% in the June quarter, and SoftBank's $2 billion bet at $23 per share last year did the heavy lifting while its OpenAI position sat flat on valuation.

The read-through for crypto is the same AI-capital signal that has driven markets all quarter. SoftBank is a gauge of whether the enormous amount of money pouring into AI is generating returns. A quarter rescued by a single chip bet suggests the sector is still minting gains, but in a concentrated and lumpy fashion. Bitcoin has traded as a high-beta proxy for that risk appetite for months, rising when the AI trade works and falling when it wobbles.

Coinbase opens U.S. stocks to U.K. users

Crypto exchange Coinbase is rolling out stock trading for its U.K. users, allowing them to buy, sell, and manage select U.S. equities in the same app as their crypto holdings. The service is available 24/5 with no commission and supports fractional shares, letting investors start with as little as one pound, or about $1.35. Traders can fund their accounts with sterling or USDC.

The Nasdaq-listed exchange said eligible U.K. users will progressively gain access to select U.S. equities as of August 6, 2026. The move expands Coinbase's efforts to become a broader financial services platform rather than a crypto-only venue.

Bitcoin ETFs pull in over $600 million in three days

U.S.-listed spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds registered a net inflow of $626 million over three days, putting them on track for their best weekly performance since early May, according to data source SoSoValue. The inflow momentum has helped stabilize bitcoin prices even as the broader market remains range-bound. Analysts say the pace of inflows needs to be sustained for bitcoin to chart a meaningful rally. Vikram Subburaj, CEO of India-based Giottus.com, said several consecutive days of inflows will be needed to confirm a sustained recovery in institutional demand.

Macro hopes underpin bitcoin but risks remain

Bitcoin hovered near $64,830 on Thursday, up 0.8% over 24 hours and 1.3% on the week, while trading inside a narrow band. Ether rose 2.1%, but most other major cryptocurrencies barely moved. The bid under bitcoin is coming from macro hopes rather than fresh crypto demand. President Donald Trump pointed to strong employment, better manufacturing data, and cooling inflation, while also raising the possibility of a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The problem is that the trade depends on several steps lining up. Lower oil has to feed into lower inflation expectations, and lower inflation expectations have to pull down real yields and the dollar. Bitcoin's roughly 63% correlation with the S&P 500 also means equity sentiment may matter more than crypto-native flows in the near term. A calmer Middle East backdrop helps risk appetite, but it can also reduce the safe-haven demand that supported bitcoin earlier in the summer.

The levels to watch are real yields and the dollar. If both fall alongside oil, bitcoin has a cleaner path above the top of its recent range. If yields stay firm, the macro case remains theoretical and bitcoin likely stays pinned near $65,000.

Other market developments

In other crypto news, bitcoin briefly topped $65,000 as U.S. inflation data was due in the coming week. XRP is getting left behind in the crypto bounce even as exchange-traded funds continue to attract investor money. Meanwhile, bitcoin investors poured $853 million into spot ETFs, with BlackRock's IBIT claiming the bulk of the inflows. Hyperliquid's real-world asset perps boom is eating into the revenue that backs HYPE, and analysts say crypto is going through a massive dot-com style shakeout as more than 100 projects fold in 2026. A controversial bitcoin fork known as BIP-110 mined two blocks before stopping, while bitcoin hit block 961,632 as the soft fork attempt began. Hardware wallet sales in Russia more than doubled as new crypto rules near, and Brazil's central bank ordered exchanges to delay large crypto transfers abroad.

Source: Coindesk News