Japan’s Metaplanet has issued more zero-interest bonds as the listed company looks to asquire more bitcoin (BTC).

The company said today in a notice to shareholders that it issued 2 billion yen ($13.4 million) in zero-interest ordinary bonds for buying BTC, with Evo fund once again acting as the sole bondholder.

These bonds carry no interest and will be redeemed in full on Sept. 17.

These bond issuances are a regular occurrence for the listed company as Metaplanet continues to increase its bitcoin reserves, taking advantage of cheaper pricing brought by BTC’s recent price correction.

Last week, the company announced it had acquired 162 BTC for $13.5 million at an average price of $83,123 per bitcoin.

With all its recent buys, Metaplanet now holds 3200 BTC, worth $265 million, which makes it the tenth-largest BTC-holding public entity, according to bitcointreasuries.net.

The calm that has returned to the bitcoin (BTC) market may be short-lived, potentially setting the stage for a storm that could trigger significant price volatility, according to insights from the decentralized crypto on-chain options platform Derive.

Since March 12, BTC has settled in the $80K-$85K range in a consolidation typically seen after a notable directional move. Prices tanked from $100K to under $80K in preceding weeks due to several factors, including President Donald Trump’s tariffs and disappointment about the lack of new purchases in the U.S. strategic BTC reserve.

With the latest consolidation, key volatility metrics have declined, nearing monthly lows. Volatility, however, is mean-reverting, meaning the low-volatility regime could soon pave the way for price turbulence, according to Derive.

«BTC’s weekly at-the-money (ATM) volatility has dipped below 50% to 49%, approaching monthly lows of 45%. Realized volatility has also dropped from 91% at the start of the month to 54% today,» Nick Forster, founder of Derive, wrote in a recent note shared with CoinDesk.

It is important to remember that volatility is price agnostic, meaning that the expected increase in volatility does not indicate the direction of the price movement in bitcoin.

“Volatility is mean-reverting, so we can expect it to rise soon, likely to levels seen in February (60-70%),» Forster added.

Whether prices rise or fall, volatility can increase, suggesting that significant price swings could occur in either direction.

According to Derive, several factors could trigger volatility, including «a ceasefire (or lack thereof) in Ukraine, or significant shifts in crypto regulatory policy under the Trump administration.»

Derive is the world’s leading on-chain AI-powered options protocol with a total value locked of nearly $100 million. The protocol has registered a cumulative trading volume of $15 billion to date.

Wednesday’s Federal Reserve rate decision could move markets as well.

The central bank is likely to keep rates unchanged, with traders pricing two to three rate cuts later this year. But a dovish surprise could recharge bulls’ engines for a sharp move higher.

Potential Fed rate cuts, however, could be limited, according to BlackRock.

«Markets have priced in about two to three 25 basis point rate cuts this year, versus expectations for just one earlier this year. We think this reflects U.S. recession fears even though economic condition don’t point to a downturn. Even if prolonged uncertainty hurts growth, we still see persistent inflation limiting how much the Fed can cut,» BlackRock said in a weekly note.

The expected volatility boom could happen to the downside should equity markets continue to fall, accelerating the decline in crypto prices.

The Bitcoin (BTC) bull market is over, according to crypto research firm CryptoQuant’s founder Ki Young Ju.

Ju posted on X that he is expecting 6-12 months of bearish or sideways price action as the BTC bull run loses steam, citing declining liquidity in the market.

«New liquidity is needed. The on-chain realized cap has stalled, signaling no fresh capital inflows. For example, BlackRock’s IBIT saw three straight weeks of outflows,» he said in a Telegram note to CoinDesk. «Even with record volume near $100K, Bitcoin’s price barely moved. Without new liquidity to offset heavy selling, this is a bearish signal.»

A recent report from CryptoQuant made the case for the possibility of BTC’s return to the $63K mark, citing bearish signals from key valuation metrics like the MVRV Ratio Z-score, which compares bitcoin’s market value (MV) to its realized value (RV) to identify overbought or oversold conditions.

The MVRV Z-score dropping below its 365-day moving average signals that BTC’s price momentum has weakened, historically aligning with deeper corrections or the onset of bear markets.

The $75K-$78K support level is critical, CryptoQuant analysts noted, as weakening BTC demand, marked by slowing whale accumulation and net selling by U.S.-based spot ETFs, continues to add downward pressure, increasing the risk of a deeper price correction.

This echoes what LMAX Group’s Joel Kruger and Coinbase Institutional’s David Duong recently told CoinDesk, with both warning that sustained weakness in U.S. equities amid economic uncertainty and global tensions could exacerbate bearish pressure on crypto markets, with stagflation also a possibility.

Polymarket bettors are giving a 51% chance that BTC ends the week between the $81-$87K range, and a 31% chance it hits $75K by the end of the month.

In the last month, bitcoin is down 15%, according to CoinDesk Indices data, with its decline erasing any post-election gains.