yen

According to Japan's Sankei Shimbun, "Saint Seiya" author Masami Kurumada has sued his former manager and their relatives and acquaintances, accusing them of misappropriating approximately 4.68 billion yen from Kurumada Productions and two other companies over a period of about six years through company account transfers and withholding copyright fees, among other methods. Some of the funds are reportedly used for investing in cryptocurrencies.The related incident was exposed during a tax investigation by the Tokyo National Tax Agency in 2024, with approximately 1.8 billion yen already recovered. Masami Kurumada is now seeking compensation of about 2.89 billion yen from the Tokyo District Court.

The Japanese yen has recently strengthened significantly against the US dollar, with the USDJPY exchange rate falling 1.4% to 156.4, continuing a 0.9% decline from Wednesday. The US Dollar Index (DXY) subsequently dropped 0.4% to 99.22, testing its 200-day moving average around 99.1. Against this backdrop, Bitcoin and gold have risen in tandem, contrasting with the traditional understanding that "a stronger yen usually triggers risk-off selling."Analysis indicates that the strength of the yen is beneficial for Bitcoin primarily because it has lowered the US Dollar Index, and a weaker dollar typically supports dollar-denominated assets and eases global financial conditions. However, if the yen's appreciation accelerates, this dynamic may quickly reverse. Over the past decade, traders have borrowed large amounts of cheap yen to make bullish bets on stocks, bonds, and even cryptocurrencies; a disorderly appreciation of the yen could trigger the unwinding of these positions, leading to risk aversion.The rapid appreciation of the yen has previously put pressure on Bitcoin, most notably during the yen carry trade unwinding in August 2024, when Bitcoin fell about 20% within a few days. Currently, traders are increasing their bets that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates from 1% to 1.25% at the meeting on September 18, and it has been reported that US and Japanese authorities have previously intervened to support the yen, suggesting that there is little resistance to further strengthening of the yen.

According to Gate market data, the yen has been under pressure recently, with USD/JPY approaching the 160 level again and briefly breaking through 160.Gate CFD has supported USD/JPY trading.

Bitcoin is currently hovering around the $78,000 mark, with a 24-hour decline of 0.04% and an increase of about 1% over the past week. The overall cryptocurrency market is under pressure due to the strengthening dollar and changes in interest rate expectations, with Solana and Dogecoin leading the decline at around 2%, followed closely by Hyperliquid and XRP; Ethereum, BNB, Zcash, and TRON are basically flat.Meanwhile, the yen has fallen below the 160 mark against the dollar and is trading near the Tokyo market. Market strategists believe that a further depreciation of the yen to around 161 could trigger intervention, while the 162 to 163 range may face stronger intervention pressure. Previously, after Federal Reserve Chairman Waller's speech in Jackson Hole, market expectations for rising U.S. interest rates have heated up, leading bond investors to start pricing in the possibility of a Fed rate hike, which in turn strengthened the dollar.This round of interest rate expectation repricing has previously led institutional funds to withdraw from Bitcoin ETFs. The market will focus on the monthly fund flows of Bitcoin ETFs.

HyENA announced that it will cease operations and close all markets, with user funds unaffected. The official statement indicated that HyENA was built on the Hyperliquid HIP-3 standard and Ethena's USDe, allowing traders to earn profits while using USDe as margin for trading perpetual contracts, processing a cumulative trading volume of over $4 billion, serving more than 12,000 traders, and distributing nearly 2.5 million USDe rewards to margin users.The official statement noted that with the further alignment of Hyperliquid and USDC, the development space for USDe margin on the platform has changed, leading to the decision to terminate HyENA. Markets will be delisted in the order of one market per hour from August 31 to September 2, with positions automatically settled at the final marked price, and margins returned to the spot balance. HLPe deposits can be claimed at a 1:1 ratio along with accumulated rewards and withdrawn via Upshift, with the final reward distribution date set for August 27 and the final affiliate commission payment date on September 9.Additionally, the Ethena exchange reward program ended in June 2026, and HyENA points will remain in their final state, with no snapshots, conversions, or distributions taking place, and they hold no monetary value. The official emphasized that HyENA has no tokens and no issuance plans.

According to CoinDesk, Japanese financial giant SBI Holdings plans to acquire a 20% stake in Indonesian online brokerage Ajaib Group for $270 million by the end of this month to expand the circulation of its yen stablecoin JPYSC in Southeast Asia and utilize blockchain technology to build cross-border settlement infrastructure.Ajaib provides a foothold for SBI to enter the Indonesian market. Indonesia is one of the largest retail investment markets in ASEAN, with over 20 million retail investors and an estimated retail market size of $375 billion. Ajaib operates online brokerage, forex margin trading, cryptocurrency, and asset management businesses in Indonesia, and this $270 million deal is also the largest tech financing in Indonesia in years.SBI Chairman and President Yoshitaka Kitao stated that in the era of tokenization, the importance of global digital asset infrastructure is becoming increasingly prominent. This investment is part of SBI's strategy in Southeast Asia, having previously acquired Singapore cryptocurrency exchange Coinhako for about $100 million and invested in Singapore digital securities trading platform DigiFT. The Japanese government has also recently announced plans to build blockchain infrastructure for stocks and government bonds, with the expectation of launching 24/7 on-chain settlement in the early 2030s.

Japan's SoftBank Group plans to issue 1 trillion yen (approximately 6.29 billion USD) in seven-year corporate bonds aimed at individual investors. The bonds are tentatively set with a coupon rate range of 4.3% to 4.9%.This issuance will be the largest bond issuance in SoftBank's history, nearly double the previous record. SoftBank is expected to announce the final terms on September 4.

According to Nikkei News, SoftBank Group is preparing to issue corporate bonds aimed at individual investors, with an issuance scale expected to be 1 trillion yen, which will become the largest corporate bond issuance for individual investors in Japanese corporate history.This move aims to utilize sources of funds such as Japanese personal savings against the backdrop of intensified global competition in artificial intelligence investment and rising funding demands. The bond has a term of 7 years, and the interest rate and other issuance conditions are expected to be determined in early September.

U.S. Democratic Senator Warren asked Treasury Secretary Basent to explain the basis for the Trump administration's intervention in the yen. In a letter dated August 13, Warren pointed out that the government has not provided detailed justification and has not disclosed how much money was used to purchase yen.Basent confirmed that the U.S. and Japan jointly intervened in the foreign exchange market for the first time since 1998 to support the yen, but did not specify the amount of funds.

Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich stated that the company has launched a new bond issuance program called BitBonds and has completed its first issuance.This issuance, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Metaplanet Securities, involves the issuance of Series 21 to 24 unsecured ordinary bonds under Japan's small-scale private placement system, raising a total of approximately 200 million yen. The scale is pilot in nature, aimed at establishing a framework for subsequent bond issuance, distribution, and management.

Former senior foreign exchange diplomat from Japan, Mitsuhiro Furusawa, stated that the yen is currently too weak, which may lead to a joint intervention in the foreign exchange market by Japan and the United States again.He expects the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates in September and to raise them again in December or January next year, with a target rate of 1.5% to 1.75%.

According to Gate market data, the yen suddenly strengthened, causing major non-USD currencies to collectively decline rapidly against the yen. The GBP/JPY fell nearly 80 points in a short time, the EUR/JPY dropped over 60 points in a short time, the CHF/JPY fell nearly 60 points in a short time, the CAD/JPY decreased nearly 50 points in a short time, and the AUD/JPY dropped nearly 40 points in a short time.

Despite the rare coordination between the United States and Japan in promoting the strengthening of the yen, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen and Japanese Prime Minister Kishi Sanae's fundamental disagreements regarding the Bank of Japan may undermine their efforts. Yellen believes that tightening monetary policy is crucial to addressing the yen's weakness, while Kishi is cautious about raising interest rates, fearing it may impact economic recovery. The Bank of Japan's benchmark interest rate remains at 1%.

Nomura Securities stated that the scale of the intervention by the Japanese Ministry of Finance may exceed the levels seen from late April to early May, with an estimated intervention scale of approximately 14.1 trillion yen (equivalent to 88 billion USD) during the period from July 30 to August 3, surpassing the total intervention amount of 11.7349 trillion yen on April 30, May 4, and May 6.

The issuer of the Japanese yen stablecoin, JPYC, announced the completion of its Series B expansion financing, raising approximately 6 billion yen in total. The company stated that the funds will primarily be used to expand the financial and Web3 ecosystem, accelerating the social application of the yen stablecoin "JPYC."

According to Jinshi, Bank of America expects the yen to strengthen after intervention actions, adjusting its year-end USD/JPY forecast from 152 to 149, with the current level being approximately 157.7.

According to Jinshi, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen stated that the level of the yen exchange rate could trigger other issues, including depreciation.

According to Jinshi, Bank of America stated that if the Federal Reserve resumes interest rate hikes, investors should focus on specific currency pairs rather than overall exchange rate fluctuations.The bank believes that the opportunities in the yen and pound currency pairs are the most prominent, as these currency pairs exhibit the greatest volatility during the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes, making targeted trading more attractive than betting on the entire G10 forex market.

According to Jinshi, trillions of funds are used to "rescue the yen," and a joint action for USD/JPY exchange rate intervention has been launched, aimed at stabilizing the yen exchange rate and preventing further depreciation.