Analysis: The number of unemployed in the United States has hit a 17-year high, sending a positive signal to Bitcoin bulls.

According to ME News, on February 6th (UTC+8), market sources indicated that planned layoffs in the US surged to 108,435 in January, the highest level since January 2009, representing a 205% increase month-over-month and a 118% increase year-over-year. This data contrasts sharply with the still resilient official non-farm payroll report and is seen as an early sign of a rapidly cooling labor market. Human resources firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas pointed out that most of the layoff plans are scheduled for the end of 2025, reflecting employers' pessimistic outlook for 2026. Simultaneously, Truflation, a blockchain-based real-time inflation indicator, showed that the US inflation rate has plummeted below 1%, far below official CPI data. These unofficial indicators collectively suggest that economic growth is slowing, potentially prompting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates to support the economy. Analysts have differing expectations regarding the Fed's subsequent policy. JPMorgan Chase predicts interest rates will remain unchanged until 2027, while other banks predict at least two rate cuts this year. Some economists anticipate that Kevin Warsh, Trump's nominee for Federal Reserve Chair, may cut interest rates by 100 basis points before the November midterm elections. The market believes this potential shift in monetary policy could provide support for risk assets such as Bitcoin. Bitcoin's price has since fallen nearly 50% from its all-time high of over $126,000 last October. (Source: ME)