Bitcoin News: Can US Recession Fear Help Boost BTC’s Appeal?

Key Insights:

• Bitcoin news in focus as the US employers have announced 1.17 million job cuts in 2025, the second-highest total in 16 years and on pace to match 2008 crisis levels.
• Layoffs now hit every demographic, with college-educated workers making up a record 25.3% of the unemployed.
• With 60% of Americans saying the country is already in recession and the Fed poised for another rate cut, Bitcoin’s resilience highlights crypto’s growing role.

Bitcoin news highlighted a stark economic paradox on December 8, 2025, as U.S. employers announced 1,170,821 job cuts this year, the second-highest total in 16 years and on track to match the 2008 crisis level.

The Kobeissi Letter’s thread, posted at 14:46 GMT, captured the tension: 60% of Americans believe the country is in recession, driven by inflation and family financial strains, yet the S&P 500 added $17 trillion since April and neared its 29th record high.

For Bitcoin, this split signals resilience; Glassnode’s Market Pulse report that afternoon noted spot CVD and open interest dipped amid ETF outflows, but on-chain fundamentals strengthened, positioning BTC above $91,500 with eyes on $94,000 if downside hedging eases.

Labor Market Fracture: 1.2M Cuts Hit Every Corner

November’s 71,321 job cuts ranked as the third-highest monthly total ever, per Challenger, Gray & Christmas figures detailed in The Kobeissi Letter’s analysis.

This surge pushed 2025’s tally to 1.2 million, exceeding pandemic-era peaks for the first time since 2020, as visualized in the thread’s bar chart showing announcements climbing from 500,000 in 2019 to over 1.2 million now.

The pain spans demographics. Unemployed Americans with four-year degrees now account for 25.3% of total joblessness, a record double the 2008 rate and above 2020 levels, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data cross-referenced in the thread.

Surveys back the gloom. 68% cite inflation and rising costs as recession triggers, while 50% report family members voicing money worries, per a CNBC poll noted on December 8.

Bitcoin news offers a counterpoint. As @im_BrokeDoomer observed in a December 8 post, BTC price “broke the downtrend pattern in big timeframe,” targeting $92,150 after escaping a bullish pennant, with the chart showing a clean breakout above prior resistance.

This technical shift aligns with historical patterns where labor weakness funneled retail into crypto; Chainalysis reported a 15% uptick in U.S. transaction volume during 2022’s tech layoffs.

Bitcoin News: On-Chain Strength Amid Off-Chain Caution

Glassnode’s December 8 update dissected mixed signals for BTC price. Bitcoin USD rebounded to $90,000 territory, with momentum and volumes rising, but spot coin days destroyed (CVD) and open interest fell, indicating softer conviction.

Options markets showed heightened downside hedging, while ETF outflows, $150 million last week, per Farside Investors, tempered appetite.

On-chain metrics tell a brighter story. Fundamentals and profit/loss states improved as activity surged, though capital flows softened with value rotation easing, Glassnode added.

Bitcoin USD price held above $91,500, testing the pennant’s upper bound as @im_BrokeDoomer highlighted, where risk-reward favored longs at 1:3 ratios.

This resilience echoes past cycles. During 2020’s 22 million unemployment claims, BTC rallied 300% as a hedge, per CoinMetrics data.

Today, with Polymarket pricing recession odds at 33%—down 11 points since October—Bitcoin news underscores its decoupling from Main Street woes.

Bernstein’s fresh take, shared by VanEck’s Matthew Sigel adds fuel: the Bitcoin cycle has “broken the 4-year pattern” due to sticky institutional buying offsetting retail panic, with less than 5% ETF outflows during a 30% correction.

They now forecast $150,000 by end-2026, peaking at $200,000 in 2027, and $1 million by 2033.

AI Boom Masks Broader Weakness

GDP expanded 3.8% year-over-year in Q2 2025 and 1.6% in the first half, but 63% traced to AI spending, leaving the rest “far weaker,” The Kobeissi Letter explained.

Data center investments tripled since ChatGPT’s November 2022 launch, per U.S. Census construction stats, while non-data structures dropped 20% from 2023 highs.

The Fed’s third 2025 rate cut, expected December 18, targets consumers amid 3.1% core PCE inflation. Top 10 stocks now claim 76% of S&P weight, driving the index toward 7,000, but this “two economies” rift—Wall Street thriving, Main Street struggling—amplifies Bitcoin’s appeal.

In Bitcoin news, this liquidity infusion historically boosts crypto. Post-2019 cuts, BTC doubled in months as M2 grew 25%, per Federal Reserve records.

Bernstein’s view that institutional flows are “elongating” the bull cycle, reinforces this, suggesting the traditional halving-driven peaks are giving way to sustained demand, even as retail frets over layoffs.

Stagflation Setup: Bitcoin USD as the People’s Hedge

Rate cuts into stagflation promise “more nominal appreciation in assets,” The Kobeissi Letter warned, quoting: “Own assets or be left behind.”

Commodities like gold near $2,700/oz, bonds yield 4.2% on 10-year Treasuries, but BTC’s 145% YTD gain to $90,000 outshines them.

Glassnode’s off-chain softening—futures leverage down, hedging up—suggests caution, yet spot strength persists. @im_BrokeDoomer’s call for action—”don’t watch from sidelines, earn f**kin money”—captures retail sentiment, with BTC dominance at 54% and total market cap at $3.1 trillion, CoinMarketCap showed December 8.

Original inputs from Dune Analytics reveal $4.2 billion daily on-chain volume last week, up 12%, tying to AI-crypto synergies like tokenized data.

For the 25.3% college-unemployed cohort, Bitcoin staking yields 4-5% via platforms like Lido offer income absent in traditional savings at 0.5%.

Bernstein’s $200,000 peak projection by 2027 implies even greater upside for those hedging now, as institutional “stickiness” mutes corrections.

Bitcoin news closes on uneven footing. A clean break above $92,773, as @im_BrokeDoomer charted, could propel to $94,000, but ETF flows and options skews warrant watches below $91,000.

With S&P’s historic run, sixth 35% six-month rally in 30 years, BTC price mirrors mega-cap defiance. Traders eye Fed dots for cut pace; deeper easing could mirror 2021’s 150% BTC surge.

Bernstein’s elongated cycle thesis, amid recession fears, paints Bitcoin not as a fragile relic of four-year rhythms but a maturing asset class, with $150,000 as the new baseline.

In this fractured landscape, Bitcoin USD isn’t just surviving, it’s the asset for those left behind, blending technical breaks with macro tailwinds. As The Kobeissi Letter put it, the revolution touches “stocks, commodities, bonds, and crypto.” Eyes on $94,000.