Japan spent nearly $100 billion in August trying to strengthen the yen. Even after that intervention, the currency failed to reach 154 against the dollar.

Then traders pushed it there themselves. USD/JPY fell from 160.39 on Wednesday to 154.50 by Monday, meaning the yen strengthened 3.7% in three sessions without another confirmed rescue from Tokyo. 

Now, why does this matter for the crypto market? Because a similar yen surge in August 2024 forced investors to unwind cheap yen-funded trades and dump risk assets, including Bitcoin.