Tomorrow's Bank of Japan interest rate decision could reshape the global financial market landscape for 2023.

As someone who has been closely monitoring the crypto market trends, I usually don't get too caught up in the news. But this time is different—the Japanese rate hike is a macro shock on the same scale as a US rate cut, and potentially even more intense.

Tomorrow (December 19), the Bank of Japan is very likely to announce a rate hike, raising the policy rate from 0.5% to 0.75%. What does this mean? Japan has never done this in the past 30 years.

**Why should we be nervous?** It's simple: the first and the last time are always the most powerful. The market impact of each US rate cut has been diminishing, but if Japan's rate hike actually materializes, the resulting volatility could far surpass the Fed's December move.

**What does history say?**

Looking back, it's clear. In 2000, when the Bank of Japan raised rates, the internet bubble burst shortly after. Between 2006 and 2007, another rate hike was followed by the global financial crisis. Coincidence? Maybe, or perhaps the butterfly effect of the yen flapping its wings can trigger storms far away.

**Where is the core?** The yen's position in the global financial system is too special. Decades of near-zero and even negative interest rate policies have made the yen a darling of global arbitrage trading. Once this premise changes, chain reactions will start to spread. The positions of whales, hedging strategies, and leverage configurations will be instantly re-priced. As a high-leverage ecosystem, the crypto market will feel the impact more directly.