Good morning, Asia. Here’s what’s making news in the markets:
Welcome to the Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of the top stories in the US hour and an overview of market moves and analysis. For a detailed overview of US markets, see The Americans.
The The Korean won And the Taiwan dollar They can’t really leave their shores, bound by local policies born after the 1997 financial crisis that keep them at home.
Japan’s Yen, in contrast, flows freely. That conversion makes it an ideal candidate for a stablecoin that brings Japan’s low-rate liquidity to the defi, where traders can chase higher yields on dollar-linked assets.
With the launch of JPYC’s Yen-back StableCoin this weekJapan has created the first truly global Fiat-pegged token, one that can circulate on shore thanks to the full convertibility of the yen.
Its arrival could transform Japan’s low-rate liquidity into a new funding source for decentralized finance, letting traders borrow cheap digital yen and chase higher yields on dollar-linked assets.
In doing so, the Yen Carry Trade, a fixture of global markets for decades, now has a programmable, blockchain-based twin linking defi that yields directly to Bank of Japan policy.
The launch came as the Bank of Japan kept rates anchored at 0.5%, the highest level since 2008, but still well below global peers.
Policymakers remain divided Over when to hike again, with hawks pushing for a 0.75% move ahead of year-end and doves urging patience amid uncertainty from US tariffs and domestic wage growth. The low-rate environment, even in a tight cycle, leaves the yen among the world’s cheapest funding currencies.
Even though the BoJ has raised rates, on-chain yields still yield anything available in Japan’s currency markets.
Platforms like Maple, Lista, and Stream Finance have posted annualized returns between 6% and 14%, well above Japan’s sub-1% benchmark. A trader who borrows digital yen at even 0.75% can still find plenty of spread by switching to dollar-denominated assets or depositing in def pools like USDC syrup or BNSOL.
But this is all hypothetical. For now, JPYC limit redemptions at $ 6500 a day (¥ 1 million) – not exactly an amount that can move the markets.
Perhaps this is a reminder that even digital currency cannot completely escape Japan’s cautious financial architecture.
Tokyo’s sense of restraint remains baked into the code, and while on-chain trading may be new, Japan’s careful hand on the throttle is not.
Market Movements:
BTC: Bitcoin traded at $110,432, down 1.6% in the past 24 hours, as US investor demand continued to cool after September’s surge. Cryptoquant data shows spot ETF outflows averaging 281 BTC over the past week and a fading coinbase premium, suggesting profit-taking and domestic appetite suppression following the $126k rally.
Eth: Ether hovered near $3,914, off 1.5%, mirroring Bitcoin’s slowdown. ETF inflows have largely stalled since mid-August, and the CME’s six-month basis slipped 3%, pointing to reduced exposure and cautious positioning ahead of key US macro data.
Gold: Gold traded around $4,020 an ounce, steady after this week’s volatility, as traders balanced safe-haven demand with evading inflation expectations and a greenback.
Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets were mixed Thursday after a 25-basis-point rate cut by the Fed, as chair Jerome Powell warned a December move was not guaranteed and investors awaited the Trump-XI meeting and details of Seoul’s new US deal.
