The Bank of Japan raised interest rates on Friday to their highest since the 2008 global financial crisis, underscoring its confidence that rising wages will keep inflation stable around its 2% target.

The Bank of Japan raised interest rates to a 17-year high of 0.5%, with Bitcoin and major altcoins surging by 3-6%.

The Bank of Japan is expected to raise interest rates on Friday to their highest levels since the 2008 global financial crisis, as a broad stocks rally worldwide calms policymakers' fears U.S. President Donald Trump's tariff threats could upend markets.

Japan's central bank has increased the cost of borrowing to its highest level in 17 years after consumer price rises accelerated in December. The move by the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to raise its short-term policy rate to "around 0.

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world's media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

The Bank of Japan increased interest rates on Friday to their highest in 17 years and signalled more hikes to come, sending the yen higher against the dollar.

The pace of interest rate cuts has been the focus for much of the world, but in Japan, things are going in the opposite direction. The BOJ just hiked its key policy rate to its highest level in 17 years,

The remarks, which echo those made by BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino on Tuesday, pushed up the yen as markets continued to price in the chance of a rate hike at the bank's next policy meeting on Jan. 23-24.