Bitcoin at $63,600 as rare US-Japan yen action tests carry-trade fears

Bitcoin was little-changed the past 24 hours after Washington and Tokyo intervened together to support the yen, a rare move that revived concerns about the cheap Japanese funding behind leveraged bets across global markets.

Japan and the United States confirmed they bought yen on Friday after the currency weakened to 163.73 per dollar. Bank of Japan data suggest Tokyo may have spent as much as $36.6 billion, while the size of the U.S. contribution has not yet been disclosed.

The yen rebounded to 157.57 on Friday and held near 157 on Monday.

Crypto traders watch the yen because of the carry trade. Investors borrow in Japan, where the policy rate is 1%, and move the money into assets offering higher returns.

A sudden rise in the yen can force those traders to close positions and sell other assets to repay the loans.

That risk did not reach bitcoin immediately. BTC traded near $63,600 on Monday, up about 1.8% over 24 hours and little changed over seven days.

Alvin Kan, chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, said the intervention is better viewed as a check on disorderly trading than the start of a lasting yen recovery.

The interest-rate gap still favours the dollar, with the Federal Reserve’s benchmark range at 3.50% to 3.75% against the Bank of Japan’s 1%. Without a smaller gap or investors unwinding yen-funded trades on their own, repeated intervention may only slow the currency’s decline.