Employment at small US businesses is contracting at an alarming pace:
Small US firms employing 20-49 people shed -30,000 jobs in January, the 5th consecutive monthly decline.
These firms have seen employment contract in 14 out of the last 17 months.
Over this period, payrolls have declined -296,000, to 22.5 million, the lowest since August 2022.
This is also the biggest contraction since the 2020 pandemic.
Small businesses are cutting jobs as if there is a recession.

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Author | Jeff Park (Chief Information Officer, Bitwise)
Compiled by Odaily Odaily(@OdailyChina)
Translator | Dingdang (@XiaMiPP)
Editor's Note: On February 5th, the cryptocurrency market experienced another crash, with over $2.6 billion liquidated in 24 hours. Bitcoin briefly plummeted to $60,000, but the market seems to lack a clear consensus on the causes of this decline. Bitwise CIO Jeff Park offers a new analytical framework from the perspective of options and hedging mechanisms.
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The Black Swan Event Was Actually This: The Real Reason for the Recent Bitcoin Crash

Renowned crypto investor Jack Yi used Aave revolving lending to build a $2 billion ETH position, only to see it crumble during the market crash [...]
The article, "Yi Lihua Completely Sells Off ETH! Trend Research Sells 650,000 Ethereum in a Week, Losing $730 Million," was originally published on BlockTempo, the most influential blockchain ABMedia media.

Yi Lihua completely liquidated his ETH holdings! Trend Research reportedly sold 650,000 Ethereum in a week, incurring a loss of $730 million before exiting the market.

Author | Jeff Park (Chief Information Officer, Bitwise)
Compiled by Odaily Odaily(@OdailyChina)
Translator | Dingdang (@XiaMiPP)
Editor's Note: On February 5th, the cryptocurrency market experienced another sharp drop, with over $2.6 billion liquidated in 24 hours. Bitcoin briefly plummeted to $60,000, but the market seems to lack a clear consensus on the causes of this decline. Jeff Park, CIO of Bitwise, offers a new analytical framework from the perspective of options and hedging mechanisms. [...]

The upcoming official BLS jobs report will give the fuller picture.

Small business employment rolling over is a real warning light. Macro pain can keep risk assets choppy.