😡 The BOJ decision could shake the crypto market.

The market has almost fully priced in a 25 bp rate hike to 0.75% at the Dec 18–19 meeting.

A 25 bp rise would be one of the sharpest reversals in Japanese monetary policy in decades (after the era of zero and negative rates).

The yen is strengthening against the dollar (USD/JPY).

Why this matters: higher rates plus a stronger yen hit the yen carry trade (borrowing in yen to buy risk assets like stocks and crypto). When that trade winds down, leverage is unwound and the yen is bought back.

This sets up a classic risk-off mood: deleveraging, tighter liquidity, and altcoins taking the hardest hit.

Recall that in 2024 the Japanese market was already a catalyst for the Bitcoin correction.

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