#FOMCWatch Bitcoin witnessed a notable recovery on Wednesday after buyers managed to defend the critical support level at $85,000, with the price rising from $85,427 to $87,918 before pulling back slightly and settling at $87,305 at the time of writing the report.

The recovery came after the release of U.S. jobs data for November, which was stronger than expected, showing an increase in non-farm payrolls by 64,000 jobs, exceeding expectations of 45,000, while the unemployment rate rose to 4.6%, the highest since September 2021.

The data highlighted a contradictory scenario: the strength of the labor market may give the Federal Reserve more leeway to focus on inflation, while rising unemployment suggests that the central bank might provide further rate cuts to support the economy, which usually encourages increases in Bitcoin and major cryptocurrencies prices.

The digital currency also benefited from a wave of short position liquidations, as CoinGlass data showed $38 million in short liquidations over 24 hours, compared to $23.5 million for long positions, which unexpectedly boosted buying pressure in the market.