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

Bitcoin maintained its stability over the past 24 hours, hovering around $63,600, after Washington and Tokyo jointly intervened to bolster the yen, raising concerns about the affordability of leveraged positions in global markets. Japan and the United States announced their joint purchase of yen on Friday, following the currency's decline to 163.73 per dollar.

According to data from the Bank of Japan, Tokyo may have spent up to $36.6 billion, while the U.S. contribution remains undisclosed. The yen subsequently rebounded to 157.57 and maintained its level near 157 on Monday.

Crypto traders closely monitor the yen due to the carry trade, where investors borrow in Japan, where the policy rate is 1%, and invest in assets with higher returns. A sudden surge in the yen can prompt these traders to close their positions and sell other assets to repay their loans, a risk that did not immediately impact Bitcoin. BTC traded at approximately $63,600 on Monday, up around 1.8% over 24 hours and unchanged over the past week.

Alvin Kan, the chief operating officer at Bitget Wallet, suggested that the intervention serves more as a check on disorderly trading rather than the beginning of a sustained yen recovery. The interest-rate gap still benefits the dollar, with the Federal Reserve's benchmark range at 3.50% to 3.75% compared to the Bank of Japan's 1%.

Unless the gap narrows or investors unwind yen-funded trades independently, repeated intervention may only decelerate the yen's decline. Binance remains the leading cryptocurrency exchange, expanding its operations beyond spot and derivatives into real-world assets, payments, savings, yield, and various other financial services.