From hedge funds to the Treasury: Bessent uses yen moves to backstop U.S. debt

Scott Bessent, a former hedge-fund star who helped Soros and Druckenmiller short currencies, now steered the U.S. Treasury in its first joint currency intervention with Japan since 2011, buying yen to bolster the currency and dampen U.S. Treasury yields as the national debt nears $40 trillion. His currency-market savvy and long-running ties to Japan informed the move, which aimed to support a key ally without triggering a broader sell-off of Treasuries. Critics called the step ill-advised, while supporters say it buys time amid macro pressures, reflecting a shift in policy under a new economic framework and the dollar’s structural role in the global system.