BitMEX Founder Arthur Hayes on JPY, BTC Moves: 'Time to Go Shopping'

As USD/JPY plunges by 10% in less than a month and Japan stocks are under fire, Bitcoin (BTC) also feels the pain. At the same time, veteran cryptocurrency entrepreneur and investor Arthur Hayes indicates potential "buy" opportunities in this zone.

JPY up, BTC down: Arthur Hayes comments on "widow maker" effect

Global "rick off" mode captivated various markets in different regions of the world, and Bitcoin (BTC) is not an exception. It is highly likely that this "widow maker" short-term move should be attributed to increased volatility and collapse in the USD/JPY pair.

Such statements were shared by Arthur Hayes, the founder of major crypto exchange BitMEX and the CIO of Maelstrom Fund, with his 526,000 followers on X.

However, he views the period of recession as yet another window of opportunities: Hayes says that the time to "go shopping" has come.

Since the local bottom reached on July 11 at about 161 JPY per USD, the Japanese currency managed to add over 10% and stabilize at 140 JPY per USD.

By contrast, Bitcoin (BTC), the largest cryptocurrency, after being twice rejected at $70,000 on July 29, plunged below $61,000, losing 14% in just three days.

Japan's Nikkei 225 sees biggest plunge since 1987 Black Monday

Besides the U.S. unemployment rate spiking to 4.3% (0.2% upsurge in 30 days) and the anticipation of potential Fed rate cuts in September, a painful collapse on Tokyo Stocks Exchange contributed to volatility on global markets this week.

The Nikkei Stock Average 225, an index of largest Japanese companies stocks, lost 2,216.63 points, or 5.81% in just one day. 

The broader Topix index performed even worse with a 6.14% drop to its lowest closing marks in half a year.

Economists indicated that both drops are the second-largest in the history of relevant indexes. As such, Japanese stocks have not seen such pressure since Black Monday in 1987.