Lưu trữ cho từ khóa: Japan

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Crypto braces for a key risk: Japanese yen carry trade unwind

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Bitcoin and most altcoins remained in a tight range as the crypto fear and greed index moved to the fear zone of 33 ahead of the Federal Reserve and Bank of Japan decisions.

Bitcoin (BTC) has been stuck below $60,000 this week while Ethereum (ETH) was below $2,400. Other big coins like Solana, Tron, and Litecoin were barely moved this week.

Bitcoin’s consolidation occurred as MicroStrategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, added more coins to its balance sheet. The company now holds 244,800 coins worth over $14.1 billion. Spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of over $144 million in the first four days of the week.

Ethereum, on the other hand, remained under pressure as ETF outflows continued, and as Vitalik Buterin and the Ethereum Foundation reportedly sold more coins. There are signs that more Ethereum whales are liquidating their tokens.

Federal Reserve and BoJ decisions ahead

Looking ahead, cryptocurrency prices could come under pressure next week as the Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan meet.

The Fed is expected to cut interest rates following this week’s encouraging U.S. inflation data and last week’s mixed nonfarm payrolls report. The swap market is predicting a 0.50% interest rate cut at that meeting.

Economists expect that the BoJ will leave interest rates unchanged at 0.25%. However, as it did last time, the bank may catch the market by surprise by hiking interest rates again. In a recent statement, Kazuo Ueda, the bank’s governor, hinted that he may be ready to hike again if inflation remains high.

A Fed cut and a BoJ rate hike would reduce the spread between U.S. and Japanese yields, invalidating a carry trade that has existed for years.

In a carry trade, investors borrow from low-interest rate countries and invest in higher-interest rate ones. This likely explains why the Japanese yen rose to 140 against the U.S. dollar, a 13% increase from its lowest point this year.

The impact of this unwind could have an impact in the cryptocurrency industry as it happened in August. Bitcoin dropped to $49,000 while Ethereum fell to $2,100 in during the crypto Black Monday.

Therefore, there is a likelihood that Bitcoin, altcoins, and stocks will experience some volatility as the Fed and BoJ make their decisions on Sept. 18 and Sept. 20, respectively.

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Theo Crypto News

Bitcoin

Japan’s Metaplanet boosts Bitcoin reserves to nearly 400 BTC

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Japanese investment firm Metaplanet keeps allocating Bitcoin, this time buying $2 million worth of crypto.

Tokyo-listed investment firm Metaplanet has continued its aggressive Bitcoin (BTC) accumulation strategy, purchasing ¥300 million ($2 million) worth of Bitcoin, according to a Sept. 10 filing. The company acquired more than 38.4 BTC, bringing its total Bitcoin holdings to over 398.8 BTC, valued at approximately $22.7 million at current market prices.

Metaplanet, which adopted Bitcoin as a reserve asset earlier this year, has ramped up its crypto investments amid Japan’s economic struggles and the depreciation of the yen. The Bank of Japan recently raised its benchmark interest rate to 0.25% in an effort to strengthen the yen, after years of negative or near-zero rates. The move has spurred Metaplanet’s decision to further diversify its reserves into Bitcoin, a strategy often compared to U.S.-based MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin investments.

Just a week ago, Metaplanet announced a partnership with SBI VC Trade, a subsidiary of Japan’s financial giant SBI Group, to access corporate custody services and financing options using Bitcoin as collateral. This collaboration aims to enhance compliance and tax efficiency for the firm’s growing crypto portfolio.

Earlier this year, Metaplanet disclosed plans to raise $70 million through stock rights offerings, with 80% of those funds earmarked for further Bitcoin purchases. The company’s pivot toward Bitcoin has paid off for its shareholders, as Metaplanet’s stock has surged more than 545% year-to-date, benefiting from the growing appeal of Bitcoin as an alternative asset amid Japan’s ongoing financial uncertainty.

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Theo Crypto News

Bitcoin

Metaplanet taps SBI VC Trade for Bitcoin custody 

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Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc. has partnered with SBI VC Trade, a SBI Group subsidiary, to bolster its Bitcoin accumulation strategy.

According to a Sep. 2 announcement, the collaboration is a bid to double down on Metaplanet’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy by engaging with leading industry stakeholders like SBI holdings. 

As a part of the collaboration with SBI Group, Metaplanet will gain access to a corporate custody service focusing on compliance and tax efficiency. Further, the partnership could see Metaplanet using Bitcoin as collateral for financing.

SBI VC Trade is a fully licensed crypto trading platform regulated by the Financial Services Agency of Japan. It offers custody and trading solutions for institutional clients, such as hedge funds, asset managersor, and corporations like Metplanet.

“This aligns with our vision of a modern financial services provider and adds flexibility to our corporate strategy, complementing our ongoing efforts in equity and debt financing,” Metaplanet added.

In subsequent announcements, the firm will disclose the recent partnership’s impact on its “financials or material events.”

Asia’s Microstrategy

The announcement comes as Metaplanet has continued to increase its investments in Bitcoin (BTC) in response to Japan’s economic downturn and the yen depreciation. Notably, the Bank of Japan recently raised its benchmark interest rate from a negative or near-zero range to 0.25% in an effort to strengthen the yen. 

Since going public about what it calls its Bitcoin-first strategy, the firm has acquired 360.368 Bitcoins for roughly 3.45 billion yen, with the most recent purchase made on Aug. 20. 

Previously, the firm disclosed plans to raise $70 million through stock rights offerings and allocate 80% of those funds to buying Bitcoin. Metaplanet’s Bitcoin accumulation strategy has led to it being dubbed Asia’s MicroStrategy. The company’s foray into Bitcoin has also translated into significant growth for its shares, which are up over 662% year to date.

Metaplanet’s methods mimic that of MicroStrategy, the world’s largest corporate holder of Bitcoin. Over the past years, it has accumulated 226,331 BTC and is looking to buy even more by selling its class A shares.

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Công nghệ

Sony launches Soneium blockchain as it pushes for mainstream web3 adoption

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Japanese electronics company Sony is developing its own blockchain, Soneium, in collaboration with Singapore-based web3 infrastructure provider Startale.

The company announced the development in an Aug. 23 release, stating that the Soneium testnet will go live in the coming days. It will allow developers to experiment and build applications, paving the way for a future public release.

Sony has positioned the new blockchain as a public network that will make web3 technology accessible and mainstream. The company decried the centralization of the current internet, where information and economic power are concentrated in the hands of a few entities. As such, it believes Soneium can help decentralize the internet while tackling two of the biggest challenges facing web3; limited adoption and a lack of meaningful use cases. 

However, according to Startale chief executive Sota Watanabe, Soneium’s first year will be spent onboarding web3 core users since the technology and the community are not yet ready for general users. In year two, the plan is to integrate several Sony products onto the platform, including Sony Music, Sony Pictures, and Sony Bank. Finally, in the third year, the team will allow other enterprises and general decentralized applications to build on Soneium.

The Soneium testnet will run on optimistic rollup technology built using the Optimism (OP) OP Stack. It will also integrate Startale’s Astar zero-knowledge Ethereum virtual machine to provide liquidity as well as fungible and non-fungible tokens.

The electronics manufacturer stated in the press release that it plans to explore how it can integrate Soneium with its other businesses to create a range of decentralized apps and services for new and existing web3 users. Sony claims that its new blockchain infrastructure will help protect content rights and come up with new profit-sharing models for creators. 

Web3 is a catchall phrase that refers to the next iteration of the internet, focusing on decentralization and user empowerment. However, its development is facing several challenges, including scalability and interoperability.

Sony said that the goal for its new blockchain project is for it to have “internet-level scalability,” a feat that could make it more adaptable by everyday users. Earlier in the year, the company announced it was partnering with Siemens to create industrial applications for the metaverse.

The first product of the collaboration was a mixed reality headset built specifically for web3 designers and engineers. In addition, Sony recently acquired Japanese crypto exchange Amber, which then rebranded to S.BLOX. The company runs the WhaleFin exchange and is also led by Startale CEO Watanabe.

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Theo Crypto News

Bitcoin

Japan’s Metaplanet buys nearly 60 BTC following ¥1b loan

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Japanese investment firm Metaplanet has acquired an additional 57.1 BTC after it successfully secured ¥1 billion loan to purchase additional crypto.

Japanese investment firm Metaplanet Inc., listed in Tokyo, has announced the acquisition of 57.1 BTC, bolstering its cryptocurrency holdings after securing a ¥1 billion loan. The purchase, revealed in an Aug. 13 post on X, is part of Metaplanet’s strategy to expand its crypto investments amid Japan’s shifting economic landscape.

In a regulatory filing, Metaplanet said it acquired 57.103 (BTC) for an average price of $59,242. With the purchase, Metaplanet still has around ¥500 million to buy Bitcoin, though the timing of the next acquisition remains unspecified.

The acquisition follows Metaplanet’s recent announcement of a ¥1 billion loan from MMXX Ventures, which is a shareholder in the firm. The loan, secured on Aug. 8, carries an annual interest rate of 0.1% and has a six-month term.

As crypto.news reported earlier, Metaplanet plans to raise $70 million through stock rights offerings, with more than 80% of that amount earmarked for buying Bitcoin. The loan and stock rights offerings are part of Metaplanet’s plan to grow its crypto holdings. The firm is looking to hedge its long-term growth by leveraging Bitcoin’s potential long-term appreciation, with some analysts predicting the cryptocurrency’s price could go as high as $1 million in the next decade.

Metaplanet’s increased investment in Bitcoin is part of its response to Japan’s economic challenges, including high government debt, extended periods of negative real interest rates, and a weak yen. The firm first announced its intention to boost its Bitcoin holdings in May, highlighting these economic pressures as a driving factor.

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NFT

Japanese crypto exchange Bitbank eyes IPO on Tokyo Stock Exchange

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Crypto exchange Bitbank is gearing up for an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, becoming the second Japanese crypto exchange to seek regulatory approval to go public.

Bitbank Inc., a Japanese crypto trading platform, is seeking to go public as part of its strategy to expand its market presence and capitalize on the growing interest in digital assets in Japan.

According to a regulatory filing published today, July 31, the trading firm wants to go public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, although the timing and specifics of the public offering remain uncertain as they are subject to regulatory approvals and other procedural requirements.

Established in 2014, Bitbank boasts a capital base of ¥8.65 billion yen (around $60 million), as of the end of last year, per the filing. The exchange didn’t rule out the possibility that the listing could be halted depending on future evaluations and market conditions.

As of June, Bitbank’s major shareholders included its co-founder Noriyuki Hirose with a 30.69% stake, MIXI, Inc. holding 26.99%, and Ceres Inc. with 23.05%.

In 2021, Bitbank secured ¥7.5 billion in funding from MIXI and Ceres to double down on its existing business as well as new ventures such as initial exchange offering, staking, custody, non-fungible tokens and a payment method based on a layer-2 solution. Unlike MIXI, Ceres — a Japanese marketing services provider — also supported Bitbank with funding as early as 2015, though the amount of that funding remains unclear.

Bitbank’s filing makes it the second Japaneses crypto exchange seeking to go public. Coincheck plans to go public on Nasdaq, via a merger with special purpose acquisition company Thunder Bridge Capital Partners IV, expected to finalize in Q3 of this year.

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Bitcoin

Franklin Templeton joins forces with SBI to debut Bitcoin ETFs in Japan: report

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Japanese financial giant SBI Group is teaming up with Franklin Templeton to prepare for a possible approval of crypto funds in Japan.

Japanese financial giant SBI Group is teaming up with U.S. asset manager Franklin Templeton in anticipation of potential approval for crypto funds in Japan, aiming to introduce spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds to the Japanese market, Nikkei Asia has learned, citing sources familiar with the matter.

In the joint venture, SBI Group will hold a 51% stake, while Franklin Templeton will own the remaining part. While spot Bitcoin ETFs have already been approved in the U.S., Hong Kong, and a few other countries, Japan has yet to make a decision regarding this financial product.

The collaboration between SBI Group and Franklin Templeton suggests that Japan’s Financial Services Agency may eventually approve the ETF, though no timeframe has been revealed so far. The joint venture is reportedly expected to offer crypto securities, though specific details have not been disclosed.

The development follows recent reports that Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund, the largest pension fund in Japan, might be looking to explore investments in alternative assets such as Bitcoin (BTC) and gold. The fund reportedly plans to examine the possibility of accommodating Bitcoin and other commodities, including farmlands, forests and precious metals.

In mid-February, the Japanese cabinet approved the inclusion of crypto among the assets that local investment limited partnerships firms can acquire or hold. The move was part of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s “new capitalism” policy, under which Japan has been actively working to cultivate its web3 industry.

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Theo Crypto News