Bitcoin soared to a new record during early Asian trading on Thursday, briefly surpassing $124,500, as the Japanese yen strengthened following comments from US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent predicting a Japanese interest rate hike.
The cryptocurrency’s rally, which broke its previous July peak, has been bolstered by US regulatory changes under President Donald Trump, a vocal supporter of the crypto sector. “The crypto market is enjoying a period of highly favourable fundamentals,” said Samer Hasn, senior market analyst at XS.com.
The yen climbed to its strongest level since late July after Bessent told Bloomberg TV he had urged Bank of Japan (BoJ) Governor Kazuo Ueda to tighten monetary policy, saying the central bank was “behind the curve” in controlling inflation. “So they’re going to be hiking and they need to get their inflation problem under control,” he added.
The BoJ, which ended its long-standing negative interest rate policy in 2024, kept rates steady in July and is widely expected to hold its stance at its next policy meeting in September. Some analysts, including Hideo Kumano of Dai-Ichi Life Research Institute, suggested Bessent’s comments may be aimed at weakening the dollar.
Bessent, alongside President Trump, has also been pressing Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for swift rate cuts. Hopes for lower US rates after soft inflation data earlier this week boosted global equities, sending the S&P 500 and Nasdaq to fresh highs and pushing Tokyo’s Nikkei up 1.3 percent to a record close on Wednesday.
