Good morning, Asia. Know here what news is being made in the markets:
Welcome to the Asia Morning Briefing, a daily summary of the top stories and an overview of market action and analysis during US time. For a detailed overview of US markets, check out CoinDesk’s Crypto Daybook Americas.
The Korean won and the Taiwan dollar can’t actually leave their shores, as they are tied to local regulations born after the 1997 financial crisis that keep them home.
In contrast, Japan’s yen flows freely. That convertibility makes it the perfect candidate for a stablecoin that brings Japan’s low-rate liquidity to DeFi, where traders can pursue higher yields in dollar-pegged assets.
With this week’s launch of the yen-backed stablecoin JPYC, Japan has created Asia’s first truly global fiat-pegged token, which can circulate offshore due to the yen’s full convertibility.
Its arrival could turn Japan’s low-rate liquidity into a new funding source for decentralized finance, allowing traders to borrow cheap digital yen and pursue higher yields in dollar-pegged assets.
In doing so, the yen carry trade, which has been a fixture of global markets for decades, now has a programmable, blockchain-based twin that links DeFi yields directly to Bank of Japan policy.
The launch comes as the Bank of Japan kept rates steady at 0.5%, its highest level since 2008 but still well below global peers.
Policymakers are divided on when to hike again, with supporters pushing for a 0.75% increase by the end of the year and urging patience amid uncertainty over U.S. tariffs and domestic wage growth. That low-rate environment, even in a tight cycle, makes the yen one of the cheapest funding currencies in the world.
Even if the BOJ raises rates, on-chain yields are still lower than anything available in Japan’s money markets.
Platforms like Maple, Lista and Stream Finance are posting annual returns between 6% and 14%, far higher than Japan’s sub-1% benchmark. A trader who borrows digital yen even at 0.75% will still get a substantial spread by swapping it into dollar-denominated assets or depositing it into a DeFi pool like USDC Scrypt or BNSOL.
But all this is imaginary. Currently, the JPYC limits redemptions to $6500 (¥1 million) per day – not exactly an amount that will move the market.
Perhaps it’s a reminder that even digital money can’t completely escape Japan’s cautious financial architecture.
Tokyo’s sense of restraint is enshrined in the code, and while on-chain carry trading may be new, Japan’s careful hand on the throttle is not.
Market Activities:
BTC: Bitcoin is trading at $110,432, down 1.6% over the past 24 hours, as demand from US investors continues to wane after a September surge. CryptoQuant data shows spot ETFs averaged 281 BTC outflows over the past week and declining Coinbase premiums, indicating profit taking and reduced domestic appetite following the $126K rally.
ETH: Ether fell 1.5% to $3,914, mirroring Bitcoin’s bearishness. ETF flows have nearly ground to a halt since mid-August, and the CME’s six-month basis is down 3%, pointing to less leveraged exposures and cautious positioning ahead of key US macro data.
Sleep: Gold traded steady around $4,020 an ounce after this week’s volatility as traders balanced safe-haven demand with reduced inflation expectations and a stronger dollar.
Nikkei 225: Asia-Pacific markets were mixed on Thursday after the Fed cut rates by 25 basis points as Chairman Jerome Powell warned a December move was not guaranteed and investors awaited the Trump-Xi meeting and details of Seoul’s new US trade deal.
Elsewhere in crypto:
- DRW leads talks to raise $500 million for Canton Token Treasury (Bloomberg)
- Solana program cut short in China as Beijing’s stablecoin warning sparks unease (SCMP)
- Kraken Top Crypto Exchange in EU Lobbying Spending Before Coinbase (Decrypt)