— U.S. jobs data for August came in far stronger than expected, with 162,000 positions added.

— The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1%.

— Bitcoin fell back under $80,000 as expectations for a September rate increase rose on the news.

The U.S. labor market showed notable improvement in August, giving the Fed’s hawkish faction additional justification to consider raising interest rates at the central bank’s policy meeting scheduled for less than two weeks from now.

According to the government’s Nonfarm Payrolls report released Friday morning, the U.S. economy added 162,000 jobs last month—well above the consensus estimate of 56,000. This followed a revised gain of 21,000 jobs in July (originally reported as a decline of 23,000).

The unemployment rate came in at 4.1%, matching both the forecast and July’s figure.

Markets reacted quickly: bitcoin dropped about 2% to below $80,000. The 10‑year Treasury yield rose 3.3 basis points to 4.80%, while the 2‑year note climbed seven basis points to 4.40%. U.S. stock index futures edged lower.

The debate over a September rate hike continues. Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh firmly put the possibility on the table a week ago with his hawkish Jackson Hole speech. Yet Fed Governor Chris Waller—joined by FRBNY President John Williams—signaled this week that a rate increase at the upcoming policy meeting is far from guaranteed, sending markets higher.

Today’s jobs report adds another data point favoring the hawks, though the pivotal figure for the Fed’s decision will likely be next Friday’s August CPI reading.

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Why it matters:

Anvil is a shared on-chain collateral layer built on a programmable letter of credit: reserve assets as a guarantee—no loan, no interest, keep custody & yield.