The central bank's policies are changing again. But this time, the signals coming out are a bit different.

The world is watching when the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates, but the Bank of Japan dropped a bombshell yesterday — for the sixth consecutive time, choosing to hold steady. While others are cutting rates, it stubbornly stays on the other side.

How strong is the market reaction? Bitcoin plummeted from 90,350 straight down, briefly breaking below 85,000, with a daily volatility of over 5,000 points. This is not a coincidence but a market expressing its anxiety in price language: the Fed wants to loosen liquidity, while the Bank of Japan is stepping on the brakes. The divergence in policies between the two major central banks is very clear.

**Japan's Dilemma**

Frankly, the Bank of Japan is now caught in the middle. On the surface, it’s holding steady, but internally, there have long been voices advocating for rate hikes. The problem is that the economic situation is too complex — overseas uncertainties make them hesitant to act too quickly, but domestic debt remains a huge pit they can't ignore.

Looking back, they just ended an 8-year era of negative interest rates in March 2024, and by July, they raised rates once more. Then, nothing happened afterward — they’ve been pausing continuously until now. This internal tug-of-war is directly reflected in market sentiment — everyone knows Japan will eventually normalize its monetary policy, but when and how remains uncertain.

**The Quiet Rewrite of Liquidity Rules**

This is the key. Central bank policies are no longer aligned in a single direction but are increasingly diverging. What does this mean for the crypto market? It suggests that the era of flood-like liquidity may truly be over. Previously, central banks moved in unison, making liquidity predictable. Now, different central banks are doing their own thing, and investors need to learn how to find opportunities amid this uncertainty.