Bitcoin and Ethereum Surge after BoJ Leaves Interest Rates Unchanged

Cryptocurrency markets rallied on Friday morning following dovish signals from Japan's central bank.

Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1%, reaching $63,486. Ethereum jumped 4% on Friday following a decision by core developers to split the highly anticipated Pectra upgrade into two phases.

Polkadot (DOT) dipped 1%, and Solana (SOL) gained 2%, pushing the total crypto market cap to $2.3 trillion — up 1% in the last 24 hours.

Among the top 100 cryptocurrencies, Sui (SUI) led gains with a 13% surge, followed by Aptos (APT) and Bittensor (TAO), which are up 12% and 11%.

The Bank of Japan’s decision to keep interest rates steady is a key factor driving the rally.

This move reduces the risk of further "yen carry trade" unwinds — a strategy where investors borrow low-yield currencies (like the yen) and invest in higher-yielding assets, such as Bitcoin. In August, the BoJ increased interest rates, which caused the yen to rebound against the dollar and triggered a global selloff.

Adding to the bullish sentiment, Bitcoin’s futures market has seen a rise in open interest and funding rates, per CoinGlass. As of Sept. 20, Bitcoin futures contracts reached $34.94 billion in unsettled positions, the highest since August.

Dormant Bitcoin Wallets Awaken

In a rare occurrence, early Bitcoin wallets from 2009 have become active. On Sept. 20, five wallets, each holding 50 BTC — rewards from the early days of Bitcoin mining — began moving their funds.

Blockchain data indicates that these wallets received their mining rewards in January and February 2009, just weeks after the Bitcoin blockchain went live. This marks the first activity in these wallets in over a decade, suggesting the involvement of miners who were present during Bitcoin’s early days.

When the 250 BTC in the wallets was first mined, it held little to no value. Today, with Bitcoin trading at around $63,486, those coins are now worth over $16 million.