The pace of interest rate cuts has been the focus for much of the world, but in Japan, things are going in the opposite direction. The BOJ just hiked its key policy rate to its highest level in 17 years,

The Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 17-year high of 0.5%, with Bitcoin and major altcoins surging by 3-6%.

The BOJ hiked short-term lending rates by a quarter point to 0.5%, which had been already priced into money markets after central bank officials, including Governor Kazuo Ueda, had clearly signalled earlier this month that policy tightening was on the table.