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Viewpoint: Japan's core inflation higher than expected sparks discussions on interest rate hikes, which may pose a threat to the cryptocurrency market

ChainCatcher news, according to CoinDesk, Japan's latest core inflation data has exceeded market expectations, sparking discussions about the possibility of the Bank of Japan (BOJ) raising interest rates, which could impact risk assets including cryptocurrencies. The data shows that Japan's core CPI rose 3% year-on-year in February, down from 3.2% in January but still above the market expectation of 2.9%. Meanwhile, Japan's overall CPI fell from 4% to 3.7%, but still far exceeds the BOJ's target inflation rate of 2%.Since November 2024, Japan's inflation rate has consistently been higher than that of the United States, currently exceeding by nearly 100 basis points, marking the largest gap since 2015. Coupled with the wage pressure from the "Shunto" spring labor negotiations, market expectations for a BOJ interest rate hike have intensified. The anticipation of a rate hike has strengthened the yen, but if the yen appreciates significantly, it may trigger market risk aversion, thereby putting pressure on risk assets like Bitcoin.As of the time of writing, the USD/JPY exchange rate is 149.22, having rebounded nearly 300 basis points since March 11, indicating a short-term weakening of the yen. However, the yield spread between U.S. and Japanese 10-year government bonds has narrowed, with Japanese 10-year bond yields maintaining above 1.5% and 30-year bond yields breaking 2.5%, both at multi-decade highs, which may support a stronger yen. The market is focused on the future direction of BOJ policy and its impact on global financial markets.

The cryptocurrency sector saw a general rise, with the PayFi sector leading with an increase of 8.95%. BTC reached a high of over 87,000 USD

ChainCatcher news indicates that, according to SoSoValue data, the encrypted market sector has generally risen, with the PayFi sector leading with an increase of 8.95%. Within this sector, XRP has risen by 9.91% in the last 24 hours, influenced by the SEC's decision to withdraw its lawsuit against Ripple Labs, while Telcoin (TEL) has increased by 15.30%. Additionally, Bitcoin (BTC) has risen by 3.71% in the last 24 hours, briefly rebounding above $87,000, and Ethereum (ETH) has increased by 5.25%, surpassing the $2,000 mark.Notably, MAG7.ssi has risen by 4.73%, DEFI.ssi has risen by 6.22%, and MEME.ssi has risen by 5.02%.In other sectors, the AI sector has risen by 5.72% in the last 24 hours, with Fartcoin (FARTCOIN), Arkham (ARKM), and Delysium (AGI) increasing by 25.53%, 11.84%, and 35.71%, respectively; the Meme sector has risen by 4.94%, with Dogecoin (DOGE) increasing by 5.11%; the DeFi sector has risen by 4.39%, with Chainlink (LINK) rising by 6.58% and Uniswap (UNI) rising by 7.05%; the Layer2 sector has risen by 3.10%, and the Layer1 sector has risen by 2.56%, with Solana (SOL) increasing by 7.05%; the CeFi sector has risen by 1.17%.Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency sector indices reflecting historical market trends show that the ssiPayFi, ssiDeFi, and ssiAI indices have risen the most in the last 24 hours, increasing by 9.06%, 5.74%, and 4.79%, respectively, with weekly returns of 10.11%, 12.13%, and 9.39%.

4E: U.S. stocks and Bitcoin fell ahead of the Federal Reserve's decision, while gold reached a new high

ChainCatcher news reports that, according to 4E monitoring, the three major U.S. stock indices ended a two-day rally on Tuesday, with the Nasdaq down 1.71%, the S&P 500 down 1.06%, and the Dow down 0.62%. Tech stocks led the decline, with Tesla plunging 5.34% due to increased competition, and Nvidia's stock dropping 3.35% as new products from the GTC conference failed to boost its price.The cryptocurrency market experienced a downward trend, dragged down by the weak opening of U.S. stocks. Bitcoin quickly fell to around $81,000 last night, rebounding only after the U.S. stock market closed, and was reported at $82,571 at the time of writing, down nearly 1% in 24 hours. Ethereum rose against the trend by 1.3% to $1,940, possibly boosted by news of the Pectra upgrade. Other major tokens mostly showed slight declines.In the forex market, the U.S. dollar index continued to weaken, down 0.13%; Russia and Ukraine may reach a temporary ceasefire on energy facilities, causing oil prices to drop nearly 1.00%. Concerns over a U.S. recession, combined with instability in the Middle East, pushed spot gold up over 1.1%, approaching $3,040 and setting a new historical high.The market is focused on tonight's Federal Reserve monetary policy decision. Although it is widely expected that interest rates will remain unchanged, investors are still looking for insights into policymakers' assessments of the potential impact of the tariff war through the "dot plot" and Powell's remarks at the press conference, as well as clues about when the Fed might cut rates again.
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