The Bank of Japan held its policy rate below zero until March 2024. This ranks the 55 days since 2020 on which it published a monetary policy decision by the size of bitcoin’s move, including the March 2024 end of negative rates and the September 2026 rate rise to 1.25%.
Data as of · 55 decision days, Jan 21, 2020 to Sep 18, 2026 · bitcoin daily closes (UTC) from Yahoo Finance · decision dates from the Bank of Japan’s release pages
Illustration: the 15 largest bitcoin moves on Bank of Japan decision days since 2020, from ▼ −13.28% to ▲ +2.84%.
Bitcoin on Bank of Japan Decision Days, data as of 2026-10-25
Decision day = a date on which the Bank of Japan published a monetary policy release for a Monetary Policy Meeting, including special meetings, as listed on its release index pages.1 Bitcoin, decision day = UTC daily close on that date ÷ the close the day before, minus 1.2 Each of these moves is within 1.0 percentage points of Blockchain.com’s daily average price.3 Bitcoin fell on 26 of the 55 decision days and on 7 of the 15 largest. Observed facts, not a forecast.
The top 8
The Bank of Japan’s interest rate and bond purchases affect the yen and global borrowing costs, which is why its decisions are watched outside Japan. “Yield curve control” was its policy of buying government bonds to hold 10-year yields near zero. The quotes below are from the Bank’s own release for each date. For the US central bank’s days, see bitcoin’s biggest moves on Fed decision days.
#1
Jan 21, 2021 Bank of Japan
▼ −13.28%
The Bank kept a negative interest rate of minus 0.1 percent on policy-rate balances and said it would buy Japanese government bonds (JGBs) without an upper limit so that 10-year JGB yields “will remain at around zero percent.” The yield-curve-control decision was by a 7-1 majority vote.4 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $30,826, down 13.28% from $35,548.2 The Bank’s statement comes out around midday in Tokyo, inside that UTC day, and the day also holds other news; the data does not show that the decision caused the move.
#2
Mar 19, 2024 Bank of Japan
▼ −8.34%
The Bank said it “judged it came in sight that the price stability target of 2 percent would be achieved in a sustainable and stable manner” and that its large-scale monetary easing measures, “including the negative interest rate policy and the yield curve control,” had “fulfilled their roles.”5 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $61,913, down 8.34% from $67,549.2 The Bank’s statement comes out around midday in Tokyo, inside that UTC day, and the day also holds other news; the data does not show that the decision caused the move.
#3
Sep 22, 2021 Bank of Japan
▲ +7.08%
The Bank kept the minus 0.1 percent rate and the aim for 10-year JGB yields to “remain at around zero percent,” by an 8-1 majority vote.6 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $43,575, up 7.08% from $40,694.2 The Bank’s statement comes out around midday in Tokyo, inside that UTC day, and the day also holds other news; the data does not show that the decision caused the move.
#4
Mar 16, 2020 Bank of Japan
▼ −7.01%
The Bank announced a package that included a new operation lending against corporate debt, a higher ceiling on purchases of commercial paper and corporate bonds, and more active purchases of ETFs and J-REITs, and said it lowered the loan rate on its U.S. dollar funds-supplying operations by 0.25 percent together with other central banks. It maintained its yield-curve-control guideline by a 7-2 majority vote.7 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $5,014, down 7.01% from $5,392.2 The Bank’s statement comes out around midday in Tokyo, inside that UTC day, and the day also holds other news; the data does not show that the decision caused the move.
#5
Jun 18, 2021 Bank of Japan
▼ −5.96%
The Bank extended its special program to support financing during the pandemic by six months (by an 8-0 majority vote, with one abstention) and set its yield-curve-control guideline, a minus 0.1 percent short-term rate and 10-year yields at around zero percent, by a 7-1 majority vote with one abstention.8 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $35,787, down 5.96% from $38,054.2 The Bank’s statement comes out around midday in Tokyo, inside that UTC day, and the day also holds other news; the data does not show that the decision caused the move.
#6
Sep 18, 2026 Bank of Japan
▲ +5.89%
The Bank raised its short-term policy rate target, the uncollateralized overnight call rate, to “around 1.25%” from the previous level.9 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $80,901, up 5.89% from $76,404.2 The Bank’s statement comes out around midday in Tokyo, inside that UTC day, and the day also holds other news; the data does not show that the decision caused the move.
#7
Mar 19, 2025 Bank of Japan
▲ +5.00%
The Policy Board decided “by a unanimous vote” that the Bank “will encourage the uncollateralized overnight call rate to remain at around 0.5 percent.”10 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $86,854, up 5.00% from $82,718.2 The Bank’s statement comes out around midday in Tokyo, inside that UTC day, and the day also holds other news; the data does not show that the decision caused the move.
#8
Sep 22, 2022 Bank of Japan
▲ +4.67%
The Bank kept the minus 0.1 percent rate and the 10-year yield aim of around zero percent, in a unanimous vote on yield curve control, and said it would offer to purchase 10-year JGBs at 0.25 percent every business day through fixed-rate operations.11 Bitcoin’s UTC close that day was $19,414, up 4.67% from $18,547.2 The Bank’s statement comes out around midday in Tokyo, inside that UTC day, and the day also holds other news; the data does not show that the decision caused the move.
Sources
Bank of Japan, Monetary Policy Releases (index pages for each year, 2020 to 2026): the dates of the Monetary Policy Meeting decisions, retrieved 2026-10-25.
Blockchain.com, Market Price (USD), daily average USD price across major exchanges, via the charts API, retrieved 2026-10-25 (cross-check; its data runs to Oct 11, 2026).