Bitcoin Flat Near $78K as Global Bond Yields Hit Multi-Decade Highs

Bitcoin traded sideways near $78,000 on Tuesday as a global bond sell-off pushed sovereign yields to their highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis. Japan's 10-year government bond yield surged to 3% for the first time since 1996, while the 30-year JGB yield topped a record 4.18%. The 10-year US Treasury yield also climbed to a multi-year high of 4.78%, compounding pressure across global fixed-income markets.

The bond rout comes just days after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the maximum size of debt buyback transactions would be raised to $4 billion starting in September. Though the Treasury does not conduct monetary policy, several commentators drew parallels to a form of yield curve control, reviving the "debasement" narrative closely watched by Bitcoin and precious metals investors. Tokyo faces a difficult bind: raising policy rates would trigger operating losses that hit the Finance Ministry, while repatriating capital would require divesting the Treasury securities underpinning Washington's financing.

BitMEX co-founder Arthur Hayes has long argued that the Federal Reserve will eventually deploy its Foreign and International Monetary Authorities (FIMA) repo facility, allowing Japan's Finance Ministry to borrow dollars against its Treasury holdings and sell them for yen. That mechanism would inject new dollar liquidity into the system, which Hayes cites as a reason to hold Bitcoin, gold, and crypto. Bessent hinted at potential FIMA facility use in August, and rising long-term yields may signal that markets are beginning to price in that scenario. Robin Brooks, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, noted on X that Japan has been in a "Liz Truss"-style bond crisis for two years, with the yen falling even as yields climb, a situation he called "deeply destabilizing" for any major G10 sovereign. Despite the macro turbulence, Bitcoin showed little directional movement, holding steady as traders weighed the implications of a looming global debt reset.