Bond markets wobble but bitcoin stays calm as Japan 10-year yield tops 3 percent

With long-term government bond yields surging in Japan and the United States, bitcoin moved around $77,000 without a clear direction.

Cointelegraph, a blockchain media outlet, reported on Sept. 1 that Japan's 10-year government bond yield hit 3 percent for the first time since 1996, and the 30-year yield climbed past 4.18 percent to a record high.

The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield also rose to as high as 4.78 percent, reaching its highest level in years. Selling spread to long-term government bonds in major countries, sending global long-term yields to their highest levels since the financial crisis.

The moves drew more attention after the U.S. Treasury said it would raise the maximum size of bond buyback operations to $4 billion from September. While it is not monetary policy, some in the market interpret it as effectively similar to yield curve control. That has again raised concerns about currency debasement, and interest in assets such as bitcoin and gold has also been discussed.

Markets are focusing in particular on policy constraints in Japan and the United States. Japan faces a structure in which further rate hikes could burden the Ministry of Finance, and efforts to repatriate funds to defend the yen would require selling U.S. Treasuries. The view is that both countries have limited options because the United States depends on Japanese money.