First Mover Asia: Bitcoin Holding Pattern Continues as Lawmakers Make Progress in Debt Limit Negotiations

Crypto markets’ Thursday stasis came even amid the release of unexpectedly positive weekly unemployment figures and GDP – the type of data that has regularly sent markets spiraling. The Labor Department announced that 229,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, well below the anticipated 245,000, and the U.S. economy increased 1.3%, the third consecutive quarter of growth. Those figures failed to stir equity markets, although a strong forecast by graphics-chip giant Nvidia based on the surging needs of artificial technology seemed to send tech stocks rising as the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite surged 1.7%.