Bitcoin, Ether Consolidate as Traders Eye U.S. Jobs Report to Gauge Next Fed Rate Hike

The tighter the labor market, the stickier inflation and the more pro-tightening, or hawkish, the Fed will be. Risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, are addicted to cheap liquidity and have taken a beating this year, mainly because of the Fed’s interest-rate-hike cycle. This year, the central bank has raised rates by 225 basis points. (A basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.)