Bitcoin's quiet split: Strong in USD, lagging in JPY as Yen rises on intervention fears
Bitcoin is currently underperforming in JPY-denominated pairs compared to USD pairs as the Japanese yen strengthens amid potential Bank of Japan intervention. Rising wholesale inflation in Japan is fueling expectations for interest rate hikes, which may impact global asset allocations by major pension funds.
Why it matters
The volatility of the yen and potential shifts in Japanese pension fund investments have significant implications for global financial market stability and cryptocurrency valuation.
The yen has jumped to 161.55 per USD from 162.42 per USD earlier today. That move has meant BTC/JPY listed on Tokyo-based BitFlyer is only up 0.68% versus a 1.15% gain in the U.S.-based Nasdaq’s BTC/USD pair. The same pattern holds for XRP/JPY, SOL/JPY, ETH/JPY, and other JPY pairs – they are up, but clearly underperforming their USD-denominated counterparts.
Yen’s rise comes amid renewed fears of possible Bank of Japan (or coordinated) intervention after the JPY fell to a 40-year low earlier this week. The BOJ has historically intervened by selling dollars and buying yen to prop up its currency, though those efforts have largely delivered only temporary effects. Japanese fiscal concerns and relatively higher U.S. interest rates have repeatedly led traders to resume selling the yen shortly after interventions.
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