BOJ Set for 1% Rate Hike as SBI Ties Bank Deposits to XRP 🏦💸

The Bank of Japan is expected to raise its benchmark interest rate to 1% at its June 15–16 policy meeting, a level not seen since 1995, according to a Reuters survey of 70 economists in which 94% forecast the move by month's end. The decision will be chaired by Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino after Governor Kazuo Ueda, 74, entered the hospital on June 10 for treatment of an infected liver cyst — the first time since 1998 a BOJ governor has missed a policy-setting meeting. Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida, recently diagnosed with leukemia, will conduct the post-meeting press conference, as reported by Nikkei Asia.

The rate case rests on wholesale prices rising 4.9% year-over-year in April, the yen weakening past 160 per dollar, and Japan spending 11.7 trillion yen ($73 billion) on currency intervention since late April to slow the decline. The BOJ meeting is followed by a U.S. Federal Reserve decision on June 17, putting two major central bank moves within 24 hours. "I interpret the coming rate hike as a defensive measure intended to prevent further yen depreciation," Shigeto Nagai, head of Japan economics at Oxford Economics, told Reuters. Mari Iwashita, executive rates strategist at Nomura Securities, added: "It's also becoming more unclear on whether the BOJ would hike again this year." More than 75% of surveyed economists expect a follow-up hike to 1.25% in Q4 2026, with two-thirds forecasting 1.5% by mid-2027.

Separately, Japan's SBI Shinsei Bank said it will allow customers starting June 10 to convert a portion of deposit interest into Ripple's XRP, according to company reports. The country holds roughly $8.6 trillion in bank deposits, and even with rates often below 0.5% for many accounts, total annual interest paid can run into tens of billions. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, a proponent of loose fiscal and monetary policy, gains the power to reshape the BOJ board when two hawkish members' terms expire in July 2027. "Next year's personnel shift could overhaul the balance within the board," Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute, told Reuters. At press time, the total crypto market cap stood at $2.15 trillion, trailing the S&P 500, which has moved above 7,400.