Nov 2: Midterm Elections Put Markets on Edge
Bitcoin Holds Near $78,000 After Binance’s $6.3 Billion Hack as Midterm Elections Put Markets on EdgeDaily Crypto News | Monday, November 2, 2026Good morning, everybody. Welcome to Daily Crypto News. My name is Matt, and tomorrow is Election Day here in the United States.We’ve got a lot happening this week. Americans are voting in the midterm elections, the cryptocurrency industry is still dealing with the fallout from the largest exchange hack in its history, and investors are watching economic data, corporate earnings, and the Federal Reserve.And somehow, through all of this, Bitcoin is still hanging around $78,000.That’s actually pretty remarkable.Craig Cobb joins us on today’s episode to break down what he’s seeing in Bitcoin’s technical charts, why the market’s reaction to the Binance hack has surprised him, and what the next seven days could mean for cryptocurrency prices.Craig has been trading financial markets for more than 20 years and has been involved in cryptocurrency since 2017.You can follow Craig’s market analysis and trading education at Market Intern, where you can explore his seven-day trial. You can also sign up for his Tuesday newsletter at The Grow Me Co., covering cryptocurrency, macroeconomics, trading, and financial markets.Craig Cobb’s Market Outlook: Bitcoin’s Weekly Uptrend Is Still IntactCraig joined us this morning with a perspective I think is worth paying attention to.The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange was hit by a reported $6.3 billion hack, and Bitcoin didn’t collapse.In fact, Craig pointed out that Bitcoin finished the week down approximately 2.26%.The previous week had been worse, with a decline of approximately 2.37%.Think about that.The cryptocurrency industry experienced what appears to be its largest theft ever, and Bitcoin’s weekly performance was actually better than the week before.Ethereum held up relatively well, too. BNB declined approximately 3.5% over the week, while Dogecoin, XRP, and several other major cryptocurrencies experienced relatively modest moves. Zcash, Hyperliquid, and Monero were among the assets Craig highlighted as finishing higher.Craig’s argument is that this looks like a much more mature cryptocurrency market than the one we experienced in 2017.And I agree.We’ve seen exchanges collapse, enormous hacks, and market panics over the years. Historically, events like these could trigger extraordinary selling pressure.But this time, the market absorbed the news without the kind of catastrophic decline we might have expected.Craig also examined Bitcoin’s weekly technical structure.His analysis shows that the longer-term weekly uptrend remains intact. Bitcoin has experienced approximately four weeks of pullbacks, but it hasn’t definitively broken the higher-low structure he’s watching.That creates the possibility that Bitcoin could establish another higher low before moving upward.The daily chart, however, tells a different story.Craig sees a clear sequence of lower highs and lower lows, alongside the choppy trading conditions we’ve experienced for months.And that means there aren’t many particularly attractive trading opportunities right now.His approach is to avoid forcing trades and watch how the market develops over the next five to seven days.He also discussed Bitcoin’s three-month chart, where he continues to view the range of a previous major quarterly candle as a potential area of interest for long-term spot investors.Craig isn’t saying everything is fine or that Bitcoin is guaranteed to rally.He’s saying the charts don’t currently justify panicking about the longer-term trend.And that’s an important distinction.Binance Reopens Withdrawals as Customers Pull BillionsNow, let’s get into the latest Binance developments.The exchange has begun restoring withdrawals after temporarily suspending them during the security investigation.And customers immediately started moving their money.During the first nine and a half hours after withdrawals resumed Sunday, Binance reported approximately $4.65 billion in withdrawals and $1.01 billion in deposits.That works out to roughly $3.64 billion in net outflows.Those are substantial numbers, but they represent approximately 2.1% of the $171 billion in assets Binance reported holding before the breach.More recent blockchain monitoring has shown approximately $6 billion in gross outflows over a longer period. It’s important not to confuse gross withdrawals with net withdrawals, because deposits are coming into the exchange at the same time.Binance says withdrawal activity has started stabilizing.That’s encouraging, because one of my biggest concerns following the hack was whether reopening withdrawals could trigger something resembling a bank run.So far, that doesn’t appear to have happened on a scale that threatens the entire exchange.Binance has also announced that it has replenished approximately 95% of the affected cryptocurrency assets using company resources.That doesn’t mean 95% of the stolen funds have been recovered from the hackers.It means Binance says it has acquired or allocated replacement assets to back customer balances.The remaining 5% involves less-liquid tokens that are harder to purchase in large quantities.And approximately $3 billion in stolen assets was previously frozen through cooperation with stablecoin issuers, blockchain companies, and law enforcement.CZ has also thanked the U.S. Secret Service for its assistance.It’s interesting to see cryptocurrency companies and government agencies working together at this scale.We’re going to have to watch Binance’s updated proof-of-reserves report, the restoration of the remaining withdrawal services, and the eventual technical explanation of how this happened.North Korea, Chainalysis, and a New Wave of Cybersecurity ConcernsThe North Korea investigation has moved beyond speculation.On Saturday, the FBI publicly attributed the Binance theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor operation, the same activity associated with previous major cryptocurrency attacks.The agency says the attackers have been converting stolen assets primarily into Ethereum and may use decentralized finance platforms and instant-swap services to move the funds further.That’s a serious development.It also demonstrates why blockchain tracking, exchanges, and law enforcement are going to remain important as investigators attempt to recover additional assets.Meanwhile, Chainalysis, one of the major blockchain intelligence companies, disclosed that it had been targeted in a separate cybersecurity incident.Chainalysis says it found no evidence that investigation materials, authentication credentials, or session tokens were accessed.It did acknowledge that some less-sensitive customer information was exposed.The company says the incident was unrelated to Binance.Still, having two major cryptocurrency security stories in the same week raises obvious questions about how prepared the industry is for increasingly sophisticated attacks.And there’s another problem.Scammers are already trying to exploit the Binance crisis.CZ has warned about impersonation accounts, fake announcements, and phishing messages that tell users they need to move cryptocurrency or take special action to protect their wallets.My advice is simple.Don’t click random links. Don’t trust an account just because its profile picture looks official. And don’t send cryptocurrency somewhere because somebody on X says it’s necessary to protect your funds.One of the stranger developments is that people have apparently been sending messages to wallets associated with the hackers, asking them to share some of the stolen Bitcoin.I mean, I guess you can shoot your shot.But don’t expect a cryptocurrency thief to become your personal financial benefactor.The Midterm Elections Could Reshape Crypto PolicyTomorrow, Americans will vote in elections that could significantly change the political balance in Washington.And I think the next two years could look very different d… This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.dailycryptonews.net/subscribe
