Trump calls US-Japan yen purchases a signal of friendship, and crypto markets are paying attention

The US and Japan just tag-teamed the currency market for the first time in 15 years. President Donald Trump confirmed that the US Treasury coordinated with Japan on a massive yen-buying intervention on July 31, describing it as a “signal of friendship” with Tokyo. The yen had been sliding to a 40-year low against the dollar, and both governments apparently decided that friendship means not letting your ally’s currency crater into oblivion. The intervention was substantial. Japanese authorities estimated the operation at approximately ¥8.45 trillion, or roughly $53 billion. USD/JPY dropped from near 164 to the 156-157 range in the aftermath. What actually happened and why it matters Coordinated currency interventions are rare. The last time the US and Japan jointly stepped into currency markets was 2011, back when the yen was surging after the Fukushima disaster and both countries needed to prevent a deflationary spiral in Japan. This time, the problem was reversed: the yen was too weak, not too strong. The yen’s decline through 2026 has been driven largely by interest rate differentials. Japan has kept rates relatively low compared to the US, making the dollar far more attractive f...