A former Bank of Japan official, Makoto Sakurai, suggested that the central bank is likely to delay further interest rate hikes until next year, focusing on market stability. The BOJ had recently raised its key interest rate to 0.25%, the first increase in over a decade, which caused the yen to strengthen and led to significant volatility in global markets. This shift triggered a sharp decline in Bitcoin, which fell from around $65,000 to $50,000 in less than a week. Although Bitcoin has since partially recovered, BOJ Deputy Governor Shinichi Uchida signaled a pause in rate hikes due to ongoing market instability. Sakurai also criticized BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda for not clearly communicating the bank's commitment to maintaining appropriate monetary easing. Source: Coindesk