The Bank of Japan's rate hike decision was just announced, and the market unexpectedly experienced a rally. Trader Lao Wu, amidst this volatility, unprecedentedly put down his trading software, finally able to rest peacefully.

On December 19th, Tokyo became the focus of the global financial markets. The Bank of Japan took its most decisive action in 30 years: raising the benchmark interest rate from 0.5% to 0.75%, passed unanimously 9:0.

According to traditional financial textbooks, this should be a nightmare for risk assets—the world's cheapest funding source being cut off, and bubbles supported by yen arbitrage should burst.

But what happened next was completely the opposite. The yen did not appreciate; instead, it depreciated. Bitcoin did not fall; it rose. Institutional cash positions dropped to historic lows. The market used real funds to cast a "counterintuitive" vote.

In the trading room, Lao Wu stared at the screen, a hint of a satisfied smile on his lips. The young trader beside him scratched his head and asked, "Brother Wu, this logic doesn't seem right? Usually, rate hikes are bearish, right?"

Lao Wu pointed to the chart, his tone calm but firm: "What you're afraid of is the act of 'rate hike,' but what the market truly cares about is never what has already happened, but those uncertainties."

He continued: "This rate hike was actually digested by the market long ago. When the central bank finally implemented it with a 'moderate hike + a commitment not to adjust for half a year,' the biggest suspense suddenly vanished. The market suddenly realized— the liquidity tap was just turned down a bit, not turned off."

"This is the power of the expectation gap," Lao Wu summarized, "The deciding factor is usually not the event itself, but the deviation between the event and expectations. When the worst-case expectations dissipate, the market will reverse and rally."

The essence of this round of rally is actually the market's pursuit of 'certainty.' Rather than saying Bitcoin rose because of the rate hike, it's more accurate to say it rose because the rate hike eliminated the greatest uncertainty. Risk assets, in the face of confirmed bad news, perform more resiliently than in vague panic.

Lao Wu put down his coffee cup and looked out the window: "That's how the market is— the crazier it gets, the clearer-headed it becomes."