Japan’s stimulus package has shaken global markets, including Bitcoin, while the UK cracks down on Russian money laundering and sanctions evasion with crypto.
On Friday, the Japanese government approved a $135-billion (21.3 trillion Japanese yen) stimulus package, mainly aimed at price relief and subsidizing gas and household electricity bills.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her cabinet believe the plan will dampen inflation by 0.7 percentage points on average from February to April. But markets, including crypto markets, are concerned.
The yen has significantly weakened against the US dollar, hitting 10-month lows; Japanese government 10-year bond yields reached 1.84% on Thursday, the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis. Major government spending like this stimulus package is likely to lead to the issuance of more bonds, further weakening the yen, which would prompt the Bank of Japan to intervene with rate hikes. That could trigger mass sell-offs in the US.
