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The central banks of the United States, Japan, and the United Kingdom will announce their monetary policy decisions this week, with the market focusing on whether the Federal Reserve will initiate its first interest rate hike in three years.Iran and Gulf countries are negotiating shipping management in the Strait of Hormuz to address high crude oil prices.

According to TipRanks, Japanese gaming giant Gumi Inc. announced that it will recognize significant non-operating losses in the first quarter of the fiscal year ending April 2027 due to the decline in the fair value of crypto assets. Based on recent market fluctuations, the total valuation loss of crypto assets recognized by the company amounts to 1.537 billion yen (approximately 10 million USD), of which the parent company bears 675 million yen.This loss has been included in the financial report for the three months ending July 31, 2026. Following the announcement, Gumi's stock price fell by 19.1%.

The Japan Digital Agency stated that its servers suffered unauthorized access, and the personal data of approximately 246,000 individuals may have been leaked. The agency announced on Friday that in late June, it detected someone using a maintenance account to access a large number of files on its government solutions service network.Subsequent investigations revealed that someone exploited a virtual private network vulnerability, potentially stealing information from civil servants and other individuals using the system.

Former senior officials of the Bank of Japan warned that U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's "unusual" intervention in Japan's monetary affairs could undermine the credibility of the Bank of Japan and trigger greater volatility in global markets.Markets expect the Bank of Japan to raise interest rates by 25 basis points at next week's meeting. Yellen claimed to have insider information about the intentions of the Bank of Japan, and Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki stated that her remarks were "a bit frightening."

The yield on Japan's 10-year government bonds continued to rise, briefly touching 3%, reaching a new high in over a week.

In August, Japan's corporate goods prices rose more than expected, supporting the Bank of Japan's continued interest rate hikes to curb inflation risks. Data shows that in August, corporate input prices increased by 7.6% year-on-year, higher than the expected 7.4%.Market expectations are that the Bank of Japan will raise the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points to 1.25% on September 18.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Basant's public pressure campaign to promote the appreciation of the yen has heightened market expectations for the Bank of Japan to take monetary tightening actions. He claimed to have "asymmetric information" regarding the Bank of Japan's next steps and referred to himself as a "big player."Market expectations indicate a 25 basis point interest rate hike next week, and Basant's remarks highlight his level of involvement in the formulation of Japan's economic policy.

The tenth round of executive option pool at Japan's Bitcoin treasury company Metaplanet continues to spark shareholder dissatisfaction. This option pool was originally designed to be 20% of the fully diluted equity and automatically expands as the company issues new shares to increase its Bitcoin holdings. Some shareholders are calling for the cancellation of the newly added 273 million shares and for greater transparency in future decision-making. On August 18, Metaplanet froze the option pool at 319.5 million shares, but critics argue that this actually amplifies the dilution for existing shareholders, as the option pool increased from 46 million shares to 319.5 million shares.Metaplanet CEO Simon Gerovich has committed to re-evaluating the company's governance and compensation policies and clarifying its relationship with shareholder MMXX Ventures, stating that it is merely a non-controlling significant shareholder of MMXX's parent company and does not hold an executive position. On August 31, Metaplanet disclosed that Gerovich had exercised 92,000 shares from the option pool. Matthew Sigel, head of digital asset research at VanEck, suggested freezing further exercise rights of the tenth round option pool, allowing holders to voluntarily waive excess rights, and replacing the tenth round option pool with a five-year incentive plan primarily linked to each share's fully diluted Bitcoin holdings, approved by shareholders.In its announcement on August 18, Metaplanet acknowledged that the decision to expand the option pool "amplified the dilution borne by existing shareholders." As of Wednesday's close in Tokyo, Metaplanet's stock price rose, narrowing the five-day decline to about 16.3%.

According to CoinDesk, Citibank will launch an international transfer service based on tokenized deposits for Japanese companies by the end of the year, enabling 24/7 instant cross-border payments between five countries, becoming the first foreign bank to offer this service in Japan.

BlackRock strategists indicate that the impact of Japan's interest rate reset has transcended borders. Rising interest rates in the United States may weaken the yen and pressure the Bank of Japan to act more quickly; rising interest rates in Japan could attract more capital back home, weakening demand for U.S. Treasury bonds. Japan holds about 1.1 trillion U.S. dollars in U.S. Treasury bonds, and if 5% of that capital is repatriated, it would amount to 55 billion dollars.

According to a report by Kyodo News, the Bank of Japan plans to raise interest rates to 1.25% at the meeting on September 17 to 18.

The CEO of Bitcoin Reserve Company Metaplanet, Simon Gerovich, posted on the X platform in response to the controversy surrounding the company's equity incentive plan and MMXX Ventures. Gerovich admitted that the company "failed to adequately explain" the incentive arrangement known as "Series 10 Stock Options" and stated that he is a "significant but non-controlling shareholder" of MMXX's parent company, not involved in its trading decisions.The controversy stems from a stock rights plan established in December 2022, with a reward pool set at 20% of Metaplanet's fully diluted equity. After shifting to a Bitcoin reserve strategy in April 2024, the company dilutes existing shareholders with each new share issuance, while Gerovich's option rights increase accordingly. On August 18, the board canceled the floating adjustment mechanism, fixing the Series 10 pool at 319 million shares and setting a five-year lock-up period, but did not restore the reward pool to the level it was at when the Bitcoin strategy was initiated. On August 28, Gerovich exercised 92,000 Series 10 options, acquiring 64 million new shares, and currently holds about 6.2% of the company; he and MMXX together hold over 27% of the fully diluted equity.Shareholders expressed dissatisfaction. A shareholder using the pseudonym The Bitcoin Pharaoh stated on X that the adjustments in August were "a step in the right direction," but demanded that Gerovich address the issues that have arisen, disclose the owners of MMXX, and restore the reward pool to the level it was at when the Bitcoin strategy was initiated.

The Japanese yen has recently strengthened significantly against the US dollar, with the USDJPY exchange rate falling 1.4% to 156.4, continuing a 0.9% decline from Wednesday. The US Dollar Index (DXY) subsequently dropped 0.4% to 99.22, testing its 200-day moving average around 99.1. Against this backdrop, Bitcoin and gold have risen in tandem, contrasting with the traditional understanding that "a stronger yen usually triggers risk-off selling."Analysis indicates that the strength of the yen is beneficial for Bitcoin primarily because it has lowered the US Dollar Index, and a weaker dollar typically supports dollar-denominated assets and eases global financial conditions. However, if the yen's appreciation accelerates, this dynamic may quickly reverse. Over the past decade, traders have borrowed large amounts of cheap yen to make bullish bets on stocks, bonds, and even cryptocurrencies; a disorderly appreciation of the yen could trigger the unwinding of these positions, leading to risk aversion.The rapid appreciation of the yen has previously put pressure on Bitcoin, most notably during the yen carry trade unwinding in August 2024, when Bitcoin fell about 20% within a few days. Currently, traders are increasing their bets that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates from 1% to 1.25% at the meeting on September 18, and it has been reported that US and Japanese authorities have previously intervened to support the yen, suggesting that there is little resistance to further strengthening of the yen.

Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel stated in an interview with CNBC that the company plans to hold its stakes in Japan's five major trading companies as a long-term investment, expecting to hold them for decades. Currently, Berkshire holds over 10% of shares in each of the five major trading companies and is continuously exploring other cooperation opportunities in Japan and overseas with these enterprises. Abel also mentioned that despite the 10-year Japanese government bond yield rising to about 3%, the five major trading companies do not view the rise in interest rates as a fundamental challenge, and Berkshire still plans to issue yen bonds as needed.Regarding AI investments, Abel stated that the rapid development of artificial intelligence and the practical applications of AI by Berkshire's subsidiaries are among the important reasons for the company's optimism about Alphabet. On the construction of AI data centers, he believes that energy supply and related infrastructure development remain major constraints, which also presents significant opportunities for Berkshire and Berkshire Energy. Abel pointed out that the company is willing to provide energy services for large tech companies' data centers, but on the condition that it does not harm the interests of other customers and should bring net benefits to the local community.In terms of the U.S. housing market, Abel stated that Berkshire takes a long-term view of the housing industry, believing that the "American Dream" will continue, but there will not be a rapid recovery in the short term, and the industry may still face fluctuations for some time. Regarding the overall economy, he noted that most of Berkshire's large businesses performed strongly as of the second quarter, with demand still robust, but American consumers are under significant pressure and need to be more cautious in managing their income; overall, the economic fundamentals that Berkshire currently sees remain "very strong."

The Japanese listed company Remixpoint disclosed that to promote the selection and concentration of its investment portfolio, it has sold all of its holdings in altcoins. In the future, it will focus its holdings and operations on a single asset, Bitcoin.As of the end of August, the company held approximately 14.92 BTC (about $1.0258 million), with ETH staked at about $68,400 and SOL staked at about $118,500. The sold assets included 901 ETH, 13,920 SOL, 1.19 million XRP, and 2.8 million DOGE, with a total sale amount of approximately $5.5 million and total profits of about $736,800.

According to Cointelegraph, the global bond bear market continues to ferment, with Japan's 10-year government bond yield rising to 3% on Tuesday, the first time since 1996; the 30-year government bond yield also broke through the historical high of 4.18%. The U.S. 10-year government bond yield simultaneously rose to a multi-year high of 4.78%, and global long-term sovereign bond yields are at their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.In this context, Bitcoin remains in a sideways consolidation, maintaining around $78,000, slightly retreating from an earlier high of nearly $79,000. There is a dense resistance area between the current spot price and $86,000, which limits Bitcoin's upward momentum. Market sentiment remains cautiously optimistic in the short term, with the $76,000 to $82,000 range seen as a key battleground in the coming weeks.This round of selling occurred after U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen announced an increase in the upper limit of government bond repurchase transactions to $4 billion starting in September, with some commentators likening it to a form of yield curve control. Arthur Hayes has long argued that the Federal Reserve will eventually activate the FIMA repo facility, a mechanism that will create new dollar liquidity, which is also why he recommends allocating Bitcoin, gold, and cryptocurrencies; Yellen hinted at the future use of this tool as early as August.

According to CoinDesk, U.S. Treasury Secretary Yellen has reportedly urged Japan to raise interest rates to curb the continuous depreciation of the yen, highlighting how traditional monetary policy is susceptible to government and external factors.In contrast, Bitcoin's monetary policy is pre-set by code, with new coin issuance following a fixed rhythm and halving approximately every four years, providing higher predictability. However, Bitcoin still struggles to escape the impacts of traditional financial markets in the short term.If Japan's interest rate hike leads to a rapid appreciation of the yen, long-accumulated low-interest yen financing trades may be closed out, potentially triggering sell-offs in stocks, bonds, and crypto assets. In August 2024, the Bank of Japan's interest rate hike strengthened the yen and put pressure on risk assets, including Bitcoin.From a technical perspective, the BTC 50-day moving average is currently trending upward and is close to crossing above the 200-day moving average, which may form a "golden cross." However, analysts believe that moving averages have a lagging nature, and the historical predictive effectiveness of the golden cross as an independent indicator is not stable.

According to Cointelegraph, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan proposed in its 2026 tax reform request to exempt trust-based stablecoins from mandatory tax reporting obligations starting from the fiscal year 2027. The agency suggested that trust-based stablecoins do not need to submit beneficiary trust reports and calculation statements that include the names and income of beneficiaries.The reason given by the FSA is that trust-based stablecoins circulate among a large number of users, with frequent and numerous transactions, and holding these assets does not generate income. If the proposal receives legislative approval, the relevant tax exemption measures will take effect from April 1, 2027.This move is part of Japan's efforts to incorporate cryptocurrency assets into the regulatory framework for traditional financial assets. In July of this year, the Japanese Diet passed an amendment that classifies cryptocurrency assets as financial assets under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act, a direction first signaled by Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki in January.

Market expectations for the Bank of Japan tightening monetary policy are heating up, with weak demand for Japan's two-year government bond auction, the bid-to-cover ratio at 2.97, lower than last time's 3.63 and the past 12 months' average of 3.74. The tail difference is 0.034, higher than last month's 0.007, marking the weakest since 2016. The government led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi supports an interest rate hike as early as September, with overnight index swaps indicating a probability of about 84% for a rate hike in September.