After kicking off the week trading above $90,000, bitcoin ( BTC) ended it just under $89,000 as the global economy awaits the Bank of Japan (BOJ)’s interest rate decision on Dec. 19. According to some experts, past BOJ interest rate hikes have triggered sharp BTC declines, and the cryptocurrency’s Dec. 14 price action suggested the market is also anticipating the same.

Japan’s financial stability, underlined by its status as a major foreign holder of U.S. Treasury bills, imbues the nation’s monetary policy with global significance. Critically, a BOJ rate hike threatens to trigger a substantial unwind of the long-standing Yen Carry Trade, where investors borrow ultra-cheap yen to fund purchases of higher-yielding global assets.

This unwinding would effectively tighten global U.S. dollar liquidity and force de-risking across the board. Consequently, this shift directly influences investor behavior in multiple markets, positioning the BOJ’s interest rate announcements as a macro event carrying weight equal to those originating from the U.S. Federal Reserve.

The week began with bitcoin on the ascendancy with the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to cut interest rates by 25 basis points on Dec. 9, fueling its rally to over $94,200. This jump reignited hopes that the top cryptocurrency was poised to finally reclaim the psychologically crucial $100,000 valuation before the year’s close.

Read more: The Fed Just Cut Rates, How Will BTC React?

However, this momentum proved to be brutally ephemeral. The rally rapidly dissipated, with BTC tumbling back below the $90,000 mark a mere 48 hours later. A similar pattern of fleeting recovery and subsequent decline followed after BTC briefly rallied to $93,000 on Dec. 12. Ultimately, the week’s sharp volatility ensured the asset ceded its early gains, closing firmly in the red and leaving investors grappling with renewed uncertainty.

With the drop, BTC dragged the broader crypto economy down, with the total market capitalization falling to $3.12 trillion (Dec. 14, 1:28 p.m. EST), roughly the same level it was on Dec. 7.

The story was the same for several altcoins: the gains made in the first two days of the week were wiped out, leaving many just marginally lower or higher. XRP, meanwhile, was one of a few high-cap altcoins with weekly losses of 3% or more. With this decline, XRP closed just under $2, and in doing so, it relinquished its position as the number four digital asset by market capitalization to BNB. The other high-cap altcoins with seven-day losses of 3% or more were TRX (3.3%), DOGE (3.4%), and ADA (5.9%).

Leading the outliers were privacy coins XMR and ZEC, which closed the period up by nearly 10% and 21% respectively.

• Why did bitcoin fall this week? BTC slipped under $89,000 as markets braced for the Bank of Japan’s upcoming rate decision.
• Why does the BOJ matter for global crypto markets? Japan’s policy shifts can affect USD liquidity worldwide, influencing risk assets like bitcoin.
• What triggered BTC’s sharp volatility? A brief Fed‑driven rally above $94,000 faded quickly, leading to repeated intraday reversals.
• How did altcoins perform during the downturn? Most major altcoins ended flat or lower, while privacy coins XMR and ZEC bucked the trend with strong gains.

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