Japan’s ‘invest locally’ plan likely to spur demand for assets like bitcoin (BTC), gold: Crypto Daily
By Omkar Godbole|Edited by Sheldon Reback
Jul 10, 2026, 11:37 a.m.
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Summary
Japanese Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama said something early Friday that strengthened the long-term bullish case for perceived store-of-value, limited-supply assets like bitcoin BTC$64,416.61 and gold, but not without potential short-term pain.
Katayama said the government is actively steering the $2 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), the world’s largest pension fund, to substantially increase its investments in domestic financial assets, including government bonds. Her comments come as concern about Japan’s above 200% public debt-to-GDP ratio has lifted its bond yields to three-decade highs, putting the yen under pressure.
The plan aligns with the government’s broader objective to rebalance household financial assets away from cash and deposits and toward stocks, mutual funds, and bonds.
This fits squarely into financial historian Russell Napier’s prediction that debt-laden nations will resort to national capitalism (or state-directed capitalism). That is, the government starts forcing domestic savings institutions to buy its bonds and other local assets to cap yields and keep them below inflation. Essentially, fixed-income returns don’t compensate for inflation.
This hidden form of taxation, first used by nations after World War II, allows authorities to finance deficits cheaply, gradually erode the real value of the debt burden through moderate inflation, and avoid the relatively damaging alternatives of outright default or severe austerity. (Other indebted nations like the U.S., U.K. and European countries may do the same soon enough.)
Such an environment creates a strong incentive to seek assets with limited supply that may preserve purchasing power, such as bitcoin and gold. BTC has already proved its mettle: Housing prices measured in bitcoin look far cheaper than in dollars.
But there’s a near-term risk worth noting. The GPIF holds $931 billion in foreign assets, including $232.1 billion in U.S. Treasuries. A slight diversion of capital to local assets may create jitters on Wall Street, potentially breeding risk aversion and selling across all corners of the market, including cryptocurrencies.
For now, however, bitcoin is buoyant, trading above $64,000, with a key momentum indicator signaling a renewed bullish shift in market trend. There are several more key levels between $65,000 and $80,000 that prices need to clear before a full-blown uptrend is confirmed. Stay alert!
Read more: For analysis of today’s activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today . For a comprehensive list of events this week, see CoinDesk’s “Crypto Week Ahead.”
- Newest version of crypto Clarity Act may drop as soon as next week, sources say (CoinDesk): The U.S. Senate may release a draft of the legislation that would regulate the crypto industry by July 13, and Senate floor action could take place before the end of the month.
- Bitcoin’s $60,000-$70,000 range becomes third longest consolidation in history (CoinDesk): Bitcoin is trading around $64,000, marking 307 days within the $60,000- $70,000 range. That’s the third-longest time in any $10,000 price band in its history.
- World shares mostly climb and oil prices slip as traders monitor Iran war developments (AP): World shares mostly advanced on Friday, helped by gains in technology-related shares, while oil prices slipped as traders watched for developments in the Iran war.
- Treasury yields little changed as investors track Middle East developments (CNBC): Treasury yields held steady after the U.S. said it will continue “technical talks” with Iran despite the recent flare-up.
The chart shows bitcoin’s price swings in candlestick format along with its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages.
As the upswing gathers pace, the 50-day average at $65,440 is the first resistance level to watch for. A break higher would shift focus to the June high of around $67,300, from where the market turned lower.
If there are enough buyers at that level to meet the supply, the focus will shift to the 200-day average, currently above $74,000.
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Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch.
3 hours ago
Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch.
Why it matters:
Digital assets posted a third consecutive quarter of losses in Q2 2026, the longest losing streak since the 2022 bear market, as institutional capital rotated into AI equities and Bitcoin ETFs recorded their largest quarterly outflow since launch. Our report examines what drove the divergence, where structural adoption continued regardless, and what Q3 signals to watch.