Arthur Hayes says U.S.-Japan yen support could trigger BTC surge

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes said on X that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies could surge if U.S. and Japanese efforts to strengthen the yen lead to a sharp increase in dollar liquidity. Hayes outlined three possible ways to support a stronger yen: aggressive rate hikes by the Bank of Japan; sales of overseas assets and purchases of domestic assets by institutions including Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund; and a mechanism in which Japan’s Ministry of Finance uses its U.S. Treasury holdings as collateral with the Federal Reserve to obtain dollars, then sells those dollars and buys yen in the foreign-exchange market. He argued the third option is the one preferred by U.S. and Japanese authorities. Hayes added that if the U.S. Treasury expands limits through the Federal Reserve’s FIMA repo facility, Japan could use its holdings to defend the yen, a process that could boost dollar liquidity and provide strong upside momentum for BTC and the broader crypto market.