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 board decided to raise the BOJ's short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25% by an 8-1 vote. Board member Toyoaki Nakamura dissented to the decision.

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.

Governor Kazuo Ueda and his fellow board members lifted the overnight call rate by a quarter-percentage point to 0.5% at the end of a two-day meeting.

According to a Jan. 22nd report by Bloomberg, BOJ Governor Kazuo Ueda and the Bank of Japan (BOJ)’s board are gonna raise the overnight call rate by 25 basis points to 0.5%. If confirmed, this increase would be the largest since February 2007.