Good morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:
Welcome to the Asia Morning Briefing, a daily overview of top stories in US hours and an overview of market movements and analysis. For a detailed overview of US markets, see CoinDesk’s Crypto Diary Americas.
Bitcoin slipped below $90,000 in Hong Kong morning hours as Japanese bond yields rose to fresh 17-year highs, triggering a wave of risk selling across regional markets.
Japan’s 2-year government bond yield briefly touched 1.01 percent, the highest since 2008, as traders bet the Bank of Japan’s long era of near-zero interest rates is coming to an end. The sale followed comments from BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda, who said the board will assess whether a rate hike is appropriate at this month’s meeting.
Traders pushed the yen higher in the morning session in Tokyo, which will ultimately accelerate a unwinding of yen-financed carry trades that have supported risk assets throughout the year.
Deeply sensitive to short-term liquidity conditions in Asia, crypto markets bore the brunt of the move, with BTC falling below $87,500 and Ether trailing lower.
The prediction markets reflect uncertainty about Japan’s political outlook, with Polymarket traders now pricing the chances of a December rate hike at around 50%, up seven percentage points.
This week’s focus for traders will be on how the Yen is moving and what the BOJ is communicating. Any further tightening signals could trigger another round of volatility across regional markets and crypto.
Market movement
BTC: Bitcoin’s drop below $87,500 set off a wave of forced selling, with more than $150 million in BTC loans liquidated as rising Japanese interest rates pushed traders to liquidate leveraged positions.
ETH: Ether fell towards $2,850, with around $140 million in long positions liquidated as Japan’s rate-changing outlook tightened liquidity in the early Asia session.
Gold: Goldman Sachs says nearly 70% of institutional investors expect gold to keep rising, with the largest group expecting prices above $5,000 by 2026.
Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets fell on Monday as traders awaited China manufacturing data and priced in an 87% chance of a Fed rate cut, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 1.3%.
Elsewhere in Crypto
- Bitcoin ETFs Are Now BlackRock’s Top Revenue Source, Says Exec (CoinDesk)
- Athena-Incubated DEX Terminal Finance Abandons Launch After Converge Chain Fails (The Block)
