Bank of Japan raises interest rates by 25 basis points. Bitcoin tops $77,000 — SkimNews
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- Bank of Japan raised its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points on Friday to 1.25% — the highest level in 31 years and its second hike in three months — targeting sticky inflation and a chronically weak yen.
- U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly pressed Tokyo to tighten faster, arguing that an orderly yen market benefits Treasury market stability and defending the coordinated yen-buying intervention as serving U.S. interests.
- Bitcoin topped $77,400 in dollar terms, extending a rebound from an overnight low of $76,200, while the BTC/JPY pair on bitFlyer gained 0.5% to JPY 12.06 million after the BOJ decision.
- The yen weakened against the dollar, lifting USD/JPY to 156.70 from 156.20 immediately after the announcement — a move that runs counter to Bessent's stated goal of supporting the Japanese currency.
- The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark by 25 basis points to a 3.75%–4.00% target range earlier this week — its first hike since 2023 — with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley expecting another increase in October.
- BOJ decisions carry global weight because Japan's decade of near-zero rates fueled the yen carry trade, with the August 2024 equity and Bitcoin mini-crash offering a glimpse of the unwinding risk.
Why it matters: The BOJ's rate hike to 1.25% — its second in three months — pushed USD/JPY to 156.70 despite U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent publicly pressing Tokyo to tighten and stabilize the yen. Bitcoin's rally to $77,400 shows carry-trade dynamics still fund risk-asset bets, though August 2024's equities and Bitcoin mini-crash previewed the unwinding risk that BOJ tightening creates.
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