The U.S. Treasury seized about $500 million worth of Iran-linked cryptocurrency, part of the Trump administration’s Iran sanctions operation dubbed “Operation Economic Fury,” CoinPost reported. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the operation secured the assets and that Washington is moving quickly to the final stage of tougher sanctions. The United States is also seizing overseas assets and stepping up monitoring with private companies. Tether froze $340 million in USDT on Tron in cooperation with OFAC.

Expectations for a Bank of Japan rate hike in June are rising as calls for further increases grow within the central bank despite a hold at 0.75 percent. The yen strengthened and bitcoin weakened against the yen. Markets are watching the currency because the yen has served as a global funding currency for carry trades into higher-yielding assets. Some see no clear signs yet of carry trade unwinds.