Dollar Steadies Ahead of US Midterm Elections
Currency markets held firm on Tuesday as investors weighed the US midterms and a central bank decision in Australia after a record crypto theft.
Updated on Nov. 2, 2026 in Economic Indicators
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The dollar steadied at 101.94 against a basket of currencies, while the euro traded near a 17-month low at US$1.1159. Bitcoin rose 0.22 per cent to US$77,975.62 after a US$6.3 billion theft from Binance last week that hackers linked to North Korea carried out.
Why it matters
Currency and crypto moves reflect investor positioning ahead of a US election that could reshape Congress and fiscal policy. The Binance theft also highlights systemic risks in digital asset markets worldwide.
Market quotes show the dollar index at 101.94, the euro at US$1.1159 and sterling at US$1.3387, with yen at 157.78 per dollar. Binance customers withdrew US$3.64 billion, or 2.1 per cent of its assets, after the theft, and the outcome of the midterms and the scale of further market effects remain unknown.
The players
Binance
The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, which suffered the theft and has covered most of the losses.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The US federal law enforcement agency that has linked the hackers responsible for the theft to North Korea.
The details
Hackers the FBI links to North Korea stole US$6.3 billion from the Binance platform last week, and Binance went back online on Sunday. The company has since covered 95 per cent of the stolen assets, while Fitch revised France's outlook to negative from stable.
Timeline
Last week: Binance suffered the US$6.3 billion theft.
Friday: Bitcoin fell to a six-week low.
Sunday: Binance went back online after the hack.
Tuesday: US midterm elections and the Reserve Bank of Australia policy decision.
Market Dynamics
The Binance theft follows the 2025 Bybit hack, a US$1.5 billion theft also attributed to North Korea-linked hackers, marking a larger escalation in state-linked attacks on major exchanges. Currency and crypto markets are now pricing both that security risk and the approaching US midterm outcome.
Shifts in the dollar and euro affect the cost of imported goods and travel abroad for households worldwide. Anyone holding bitcoin or ether should note that Binance's theft and recovery effort may influence how quickly prices stabilize on exchanges they use.
The takeaway
Currency and crypto markets respond quickly to both political events and security breaches, so watching exchange security disclosures and central bank decisions can help readers gauge near-term price risk.
What happens next
Results of the US midterm elections are due Tuesday, and the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to announce its cash rate decision the same day.
Further reading
For more on the data behind these moves, see Economic Indicators.
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