The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has sent its crypto asset rulemaking to the White House for review, moving forward even as Congress remains inactive on the matter.

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After the rate hike, the yen weakened beyond 157 against the dollar and the 10-year Japanese government bond yield declined, while the Nikkei 225 climbed 1.5%.

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The Bank of Japan raised its main interest rate from 1% to 1.25%, its highest level since 1995. It was the sixth increase since 2024, as Japan contends with a weak yen, rising prices and a shrinking workforce, while the Iran war drives up energy costs and inflation pressure.

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The Bank of Japan raised its target rate from 1% to 1.25%, the highest since 1995, seeking to limit inflationary pressure linked to the war in Iran. Two board members opposed the move. The yen fell about 0.7% against the dollar, helping the Nikkei rise nearly 2%.

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The Bank of Japan lifted interest rates to 1.25%, the highest level in 31 years, in a widely anticipated move aimed at limiting the risk that inflation would overshoot its 2% target.

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The yen fell against major currencies in Asian trading on Friday after the Bank of Japan delivered a widely expected rate hike that failed to stop the currency’s decline.

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Japan’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate from 1.0% to 1.25% on Friday, reaching a 31-year high.

Bank of Japaninterest ratesmonetary policy

Stablecoin payments company dtcpay has closed a $25 million Series A backed by SBI Group. The funding will support expansion of its product suite and merchant network, including a revamped business portal for enterprise customers.

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S&P Global has agreed to acquire smart-contract security firm OpenZeppelin, extending its digital-asset business into the security infrastructure behind stablecoins, tokenized funds and decentralized finance. OpenZeppelin will remain a separate unit under its own name, with CEO Demian Brener staying on. Financial terms were not disclosed, and closing conditions remain.

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Preliminary shipping data showed that four commodity vessels passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf on Thursday, down from six the previous day and below the roughly 16-vessel 10-day average.

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Donald Trump’s naval campaign is deepening Tehran’s reliance on trade routes through land neighbours such as Turkey, as Iran turns from ships to trucks to evade the US blockade.

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The SEC has created a five-year pathway for regulated US stocks to trade on blockchain-native venues, following the Senate’s failure to advance the CLARITY Act. The exemption gives qualifying tokenized-securities venues temporary relief from some exchange and dealer-registration rules, while imposing limits on symbols and volume plus transparency, recordkeeping and technology safeguards.

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The SEC’s five-year experiment creates a new U.S. route for DeFi-style trading venues, tokenization companies and liquidity providers. Synthetic stock tokens, however, remain outside the framework.

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A US regulator is opening a pathway for tokenised stock trading. Blockchain-based representations of traditional equities can trade around the clock and be used more readily as collateral.

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The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission unveiled a long-awaited five-year exemption allowing companies to offer blockchain-based, or “tokenized,” stocks and other securities for trading. The move could bring digital assets more deeply into traditional markets.

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The SEC has opened a route for tokenized stock trading, moving markets closer to round-the-clock operations. The long-awaited Innovation Exemption came two days after the Senate voted to stop the CLARITY Act crypto market structure bill from advancing.

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Ratings company S&P Global is acquiring OpenZeppelin in a move focused on the technological risks banks and asset managers face onchain. The deal follows S&P Global’s recent investment in market-data firm Kaiko.

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The SEC has released its long-awaited “innovation exemption,” presenting it as a response to the Senate’s failure to move forward with cryptocurrency legislation.

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Bitcoin’s current drawdown resembles its position before the Federal Reserve’s first rate hike in March 2022, prompting questions about whether a relief rally could come before further losses.

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The Federal Reserve unanimously raised its interest-rate range from 3.5%-3.75% to 3.75%-4%, citing inflation that is too high and has lasted too long. Donald Trump had urged cuts but backed Kevin Warsh after the decision while attacking the board. The article contrasts US imported inflation with China’s weak demand and low inflation, warning that a wider rate gap makes Chinese easing riskier.

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Treasury yields moved lower after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, beginning a new hiking cycle.

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The Federal Reserve is raising interest rates again, with effects that could extend well beyond the United States and put pressure on economies elsewhere.

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Asian shares edged higher on Thursday as investors bet the Federal Reserve was finally moving ahead of inflation. Its first rate hike in more than three years helped calm a global bond selloff that had driven long-term yields sharply higher.

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Hong Kong and mainland Chinese stocks fell on Thursday after the US Federal Reserve delivered its first interest-rate increase in three years and indicated that additional tightening remained possible. The Hang Seng Index was down 0.8 per cent at 24,537.30 by 9.30am, while the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.5 per cent and the CSI 300 dropped 0.2 per cent.

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Members of the Federal Open Market Committee unanimously voted to lift the Fed’s key overnight bank lending rate by a quarter point, seeking to bring inflation down. It was their first unanimous rate hike in more than three years.

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