Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showing just 29,000 jobs added in September sent shockwaves through markets and triggered a sharp repricing of safe-haven assets.

At 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time on Friday, the detailed indicators came in broadly below expectations: the unemployment rate rose to 4.2% against a forecast of 4.1%, a far cry from August's strong showing of 162,000 jobs, while wage growth was 3.0% versus 3.1% expected, and the labor force participation rate was 61.8% against 61.6% expected; the private sector added only 46,000 positions compared with 81,000 expected, and the average workweek was 34.4 hours versus 34.3 hours expected.

Data compiled by Woofun AI shows hiring has essentially stalled across major industries, with the shortfall against the 90,000 expected underscoring the weakness in the economy.

Asset prices surged in response. TradingView recorded gold climbing from $4,178 to $4,227, while BTC jumped from $86,450 to $87,230 and was last at $86,767, a gain of 3.48% on the day and its second big rally this week, after a rise on Wednesday when inflation cooled to 3.4%.

CoinGlass tracked $32.51 million in total liquidations, of which $27.53 million were losses on short positions and $20.5 million were tied to BTC.

On the macroeconomic front, the Federal Reserve raised rates in September and JPMorgan (JPM.US) expects another increase in December, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield hit a 24-year high.

The pronounced slowdown in the labor market, however, has blunted the pressure from rate hikes and forced markets to reprice risk, marking another powerful driver for crypto assets from recession expectations after cooling inflation.