Bitcoin (BTC) Hits $91,000 as Yen Strengthens on Suspected Bank of Japan FX Intervention

Bitcoin (BTC) surged to $91,000 in early U.S. afternoon trading on Friday, breaking above its week-long range of $88,000-$90,000. The move followed suspected foreign exchange market intervention by the Bank of Japan, which left monetary policy unchanged but adopted a more hawkish tone, strengthening the yen against the U.S. dollar. Traders speculate that the yen's recent weakness and implications for leveraged carry trades may have weighed on crypto markets, with a reversal potentially benefiting risk assets like Bitcoin. Miners such as Iren (IREN), Hut 8 (HUT), TeraWulf (WULF), and CleanSpark (CLSK) rallied 5%-10%, while MicroStrategy (MSTR) gained 5%. Coinbase (COIN) narrowed its losses after an early decline. Precious metals also rose, with silver up over 5% to $101.44 per ounce and gold approaching $5,000. U.S. stocks reversed early declines, with the Nasdaq up 0.6%.