The Bank of Japan raised the key interest rate by 25 basis points - to 1%, the highest level in 31 years (since 1995). The market-driven decision was made amid rising global energy prices and increasing inflationary pressures. The regulator signaled a willingness to tighten policy further, presenting an optimistic outlook for economic growth and expressing confidence that wage growth would achieve the 2% inflation target.

Although rate hikes have traditionally been seen as an adverse factor for risky assets, Bitcoin has not shown a strong response, continuing to trade close to $66,300. Analysts link this resilience to another regulatory decision: the suspension of the rollback of quantitative easing (QE). The pause in the government bond buyback offset the tightness of the rate increase by maintaining support for market liquidity.

At the same time, the cryptocurrency futures market was highly volatile. According to CoinGlass, over the past 24 hours, forced liquidations have exceeded $535 million, affecting more than 111,000 traders. The owners of shorties suffered the largest losses, accounting for $375 million of the total amount liquidated. Market participants trading pairs with Bitcoin and Ethereum suffered the most, with closed positions amounting to $130 million and $197 million respectively.