Robert Kiyosaki, the bestselling author of Rich Dad Poor Dad, has renewed his warning about global financial instability, arguing that the unwinding of the yen carry trade could trigger broader market stress and accelerate the deflation of asset bubbles. In response, he reiterated his long-standing preference for gold, silver, bitcoin, and ethereum.
In a Nov. 28 post on X, Kiyosaki said that Japan’s carry trade had effectively come to an end and cautioned investors to “watch out below,” suggesting that overstretched markets may be approaching a sharper correction. He paired that warning with a familiar investment message: buy gold, silver, bitcoin, and ethereum. His view is that these assets are better positioned to preserve value during periods of financial turbulence than conventional risk assets tied closely to the broader credit system.
Why the Yen Carry Trade Matters
The warning comes as analysts increasingly focus on the possible reversal of the massive yen carry trade, which the report describes as being worth roughly $20 trillion. For years, global investors borrowed cheaply in Japanese yen and deployed that capital into higher-yielding assets elsewhere, including equities, technology shares, and emerging-market investments. This strategy benefited from Japan’s low-rate environment and contributed to rising valuations across multiple parts of the global market.
That dynamic may now be shifting. As the yen strengthens and Japanese government bond yields rise sharply in November 2025, investors using borrowed yen can face mounting pressure to unwind those positions. When carry trades reverse, participants may be forced to sell other assets in order to repay yen-denominated debt. That process can tighten liquidity quickly and intensify selling pressure across markets.
Such episodes matter because they are not confined to Japan. The yen carry trade has long served as a global funding mechanism, meaning its reversal can ripple outward into stocks, technology names, and other risk assets around the world. The report notes that similar liquidity dynamics have historically amplified market declines, including during the 2008 financial crisis.
Kiyosaki’s Defensive Asset Thesis
Kiyosaki’s latest comments are consistent with a position he has maintained for years. He has repeatedly argued that traditional financial assets are vulnerable to debt excesses, monetary debasement, and systemic instability. In that framework, he treats precious metals and certain digital assets as alternatives to fiat-based wealth storage.
Gold and silver, in his view, remain forms of “real money” with long-established roles as stores of value. Bitcoin and ethereum occupy a similar place in his broader thesis, though for different reasons. He has often described bitcoin as “the people’s money,” emphasizing its scarcity and decentralized design. In periods when trust in governments, central banks, or fiat currencies weakens, he believes that investors may increasingly prefer assets that are not easily diluted by policy decisions.
His endorsement of ethereum alongside bitcoin also reflects his broader support for major cryptoassets as part of a defensive allocation strategy. While he did not provide a fresh price forecast in this latest statement, he made clear that he still sees cryptocurrencies as relevant hedges when volatility rises and confidence in traditional markets falls.
Bubble Concerns and Liquidity Risk
The phrase “bubble markets about to deflate,” used in Kiyosaki’s message, reflects his broader concern that years of easy liquidity helped inflate valuations well beyond what underlying fundamentals can support. If funding conditions tighten because yen borrowing becomes less attractive or more expensive, that excess liquidity could begin to reverse. In practical terms, this means investors may need to reduce leverage, cut exposure to speculative assets, and raise cash or repay obligations.
That scenario is particularly important for markets that have relied heavily on abundant global liquidity. Technology stocks, high-growth equities, and some emerging-market assets are often considered vulnerable when financing conditions become less forgiving. A forced unwind in one area of the market can quickly spread to others, creating the kind of broad-based risk-off environment that Kiyosaki appears to be warning about.
His message also carries a wider critique of fiat currencies. He has long argued that ongoing currency debasement erodes purchasing power and undermines long-term financial stability. That belief underpins his repeated advice to own assets with either physical scarcity, like gold and silver, or digitally enforced scarcity, like bitcoin.
No New Forecast, But a Familiar Positioning Call
Although Kiyosaki’s latest warning does not introduce a new numerical forecast for bitcoin or the stock market, it reinforces a consistent line of thinking: market stress creates wealth-transfer events, and investors who hold hard assets or scarce digital assets may fare better than those fully exposed to conventional paper-based instruments. He continues to argue that periods of panic and forced deleveraging can create opportunities for those already positioned in what he sees as durable stores of value.
For crypto investors, his comments are notable less because they represent a change in stance and more because they connect a macro market event—the unwinding of the yen carry trade—to the investment case for bitcoin and ethereum. In this framing, crypto is not merely a speculative trade but part of a broader hedge against liquidity shocks, currency weakness, and financial-system stress.
Whether markets ultimately experience the severe downturn Kiyosaki anticipates remains uncertain. Still, his latest remarks underscore a growing concern among market observers: if the yen carry trade is indeed unwinding in earnest, the consequences may extend well beyond currency markets and affect global liquidity, risk appetite, and the relative appeal of alternative assets such as precious metals and major cryptocurrencies.