Japanese investors sold a net $29.6 billion of U.S. Treasuries, agency debt, and local authority debt in the first quarter of 2026, the largest quarterly disposal since Q2 2022 and the first quarterly outflow since Q4 2024. After being net buyers in 11 of the previous 12 quarters, the reversal is described as potentially pushing U.S. Treasury yields higher. The newer topic links that yield pressure to weakness in Bitcoin and other risk assets, as higher returns on safer government bonds can tighten financial conditions and reduce demand for speculative investments.