What it measures
The price of money — high yields compete with assets that pay no interest.
The 10-year Treasury yield is the price of money for the world: the benchmark rate against which every other asset is discounted. For crypto it is the competition — the risk-free return an investor gives up to hold assets that pay no interest.
How to read it
High and rising yields tighten the screws on every long-duration asset, crypto included: above roughly 4.5 % the pull of risk-free return has historically pressured valuations, while falling yields ease conditions and support risk appetite. Speed matters as much as level — rapid yield spikes have hit crypto harder than slow grinds to the same number. Read it together with the real yield, which strips out inflation.
Theses riding on this indicator
Moonkelp reads every indicator through investment theses — pick yours and the daily briefing shows what supports or threatens it.
Frequently asked questions
Why does the 10-year yield affect crypto?
Because it is the benchmark alternative. When ten-year government paper pays 5 % risk-free, non-yielding assets like Bitcoin must clear a higher bar to attract capital. Rising yields also tighten financial conditions broadly, which drains risk appetite across markets.
What is considered a high 10-year yield?
Context-dependent, but in the post-2008 era yields above ~4.5 % have acted as a headwind for risk assets, while sub-3.5 % territory reflected easy conditions. The zone in between is elevated but livable.
Where does this data come from?
From the official FRED series DGS10 (daily constant-maturity 10-year yield), published by the St. Louis Fed, refreshed each trading day.
Data & method
Collected automatically by the Moonkelp agent, validated against plausibility bands before anything is written. How the pipeline works →
Related indicators
This indicator is one tile of the daily briefing —read today’s full market picture →