Hello, Asia. Here’s what’s making news on the markets:
Welcome to Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of the top news stories during U.S. business hours and insight into market movements and analysis. For a detailed look at US markets, check out CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
The Korean won and Taiwan dollar can’t really leave their shores, bound by local rules born in the aftermath of the 1997 financial crisis that keep them at home.
The Japanese yen, on the other hand, circulates freely. This convertibility makes it the ideal candidate for a stablecoin that brings Japan’s low-rate liquidity into DeFi, where traders can seek higher returns for dollar-linked assets.
With this week’s launch of the yen-backed stablecoin JPYC, Japan has created the first truly global fiat-anchored token in Asia, which can circulate overseas thanks to the full convertibility of the yen.
Its arrival could turn Japan’s low-rate liquidity into a new funding source for decentralized finance, allowing traders to borrow digital yen at low prices and seek higher returns on dollar-linked assets.
In doing so, the yen carry trade, a staple of global markets for decades, now has a programmable blockchain-based twin that directly links DeFi returns to Bank of Japan policy.
The launch comes as the Bank of Japan maintains rates at 0.5%, their highest level since 2008, but still well below global peers.
Policymakers remain divided on when to raise again, with hawks pushing for a 0.75% hike by the end of the year and doves calling for patience amid uncertainty over U.S. tariffs and domestic wage growth. This low rate environment, even in a tightening cycle, places the yen among the cheapest financing currencies in the world.
Even if the BOJ raises rates, on-chain yields still dwarf anything available in Japanese money markets.
Platforms like Maple, Lista and Stream Finance boast annual returns of between 6% and 14%, well above the Japanese benchmark of less than 1%. A trader borrowing digital yen even at 0.75% would still find a wide spread when trading against dollar-denominated assets or depositing into DeFi pools like USDC Syrup or BNSOL.
But this is all hypothetical. Currently, JPYC limits buybacks to $6,500 per day (1 million yen), which isn’t exactly an amount likely to move markets.
Perhaps this reminds us that even digital currency cannot completely escape Japan’s cautious financial architecture.
Tokyo’s sense of restraint remains ingrained in code, and while the chain carry trade may be new, Japan’s cautious hand on the accelerator is not.
Market movements:
BTC: Bitcoin traded at $110,432, down 1.6% over the past 24 hours, as demand from U.S. investors continued to cool after September’s surge. Data from CryptoQuant shows one-time ETF outflows averaging 281 BTC over the past week and a declining Coinbase premium, suggesting profit-taking and diminishing domestic appetite following the $126,000 rally.
ETFs: Ether hovered near $3,914, down 1.5%, reflecting Bitcoin’s slowdown. ETF inflows have almost stalled since mid-August and the CME’s half-year basis has slipped to 3%, reflecting reduced leverage exposure and cautious positioning ahead of key US macroeconomic data.
Gold: Gold traded around $4,020 an ounce, steady after this week’s volatility, as traders balanced safe-haven demand with lower inflation expectations and a firmer dollar.
Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Thursday after the Fed’s 25 basis point rate cut, as Chairman Jerome Powell warned a December decision was not guaranteed and investors awaited the Trump-Xi meeting and details of Seoul’s new U.S. trade deal.
Elsewhere in Crypto:
- DRW leads talks to raise $500 million for Canton’s token treasury (Bloomberg)
- Solana event in China halted as Beijing’s stablecoin warning sparks unease (SCMP)
- Kraken Leads Crypto Exchanges in EU Lobbying Spending Ahead of Coinbase (Decrypt)
