Originally published by The Block on November 5, 2026, at 04:08:56 UTC+8. Market figures below reflect that report, not current prices.
Bitcoin recovered its post-Binance hack losses and approached $81,000 following the U.S. midterm elections, in which Democrats regained control of both chambers of Congress, The Block reported.
On Wednesday afternoon, bitcoin was up 3.5% at $80,500, while Ethereum rose nearly 6% to $2,433. Solana and XRP each gained about 2.5%.
Nexo analysts said markets absorbed the election outcome without a lasting sell-off. Futures initially fell as much as 2.5% as early results arrived, then fully recovered. In their assessment, investors treated the result as providing clarity rather than changing the growth outlook.
Derivatives activity points to position adjustments
According to Nexo, futures data suggested traders were adjusting existing positions rather than substantially increasing leverage. Crypto futures volume rose 27%, but open interest increased just 3%; bitcoin open interest also grew more slowly than its price. Roughly $469 million in leveraged positions were liquidated.
Nexo also reported that market orders had shifted from a selling bias the previous day to a slight net buying bias. The most actively traded bitcoin options were predominantly calls.
Crypto-related equities advanced as well:
- Strategy and Coinbase gained about 6% each.
- Strategy’s variable-rate perpetual preferred stock, STRC, reached $100 for the first time since May.
- Block Inc. rose 15% following its earnings report.
- Bitcoin treasury firm Strive climbed roughly 12%.
The Official Trump (TRUMP) memecoin moved in the opposite direction, falling 17%. Strategy Executive Chairman Michael Saylor said earlier Wednesday that “the case for holding Bitcoin crosses party lines.”
Hougan distinguishes exchange security from Bitcoin’s network
Bitwise Chief Investment Officer Matt Hougan attributed the relatively muted response to the Binance breach to a more mature crypto industry and improved custody infrastructure.
In his weekly memo, Hougan examined the 10 largest crypto-related hacks in history. Bitcoin finished higher over the following 30 days in five cases and lower in five—an outcome he said suggested no consistent relationship between major hacks and subsequent bitcoin performance.
Hougan said bitcoin’s roughly 4% decline after the Binance breach was broadly in line with other risk assets. He also emphasized that the incident affected Binance, not the Bitcoin network, and that the stolen crypto had been held in the exchange’s online hot wallets.
He pointed to institutional custodians, cold storage and spot Bitcoin ETFs as safer alternatives. In particular, he highlighted ETFs’ use of offline storage and multiple withdrawal approvals and restrictions for their underlying assets.
What analysts were watching next
Matt Mena, a crypto research strategist at 21Shares, also described the market’s response as encouraging. In a Tuesday report, he characterized the Binance incident as the largest hack in crypto history but said its drawdown was much smaller than those seen during earlier crises. He noted that protocols continued operating, financial institutions continued developing onchain products and regulators continued writing rules.
Mena identified four areas to monitor heading into November:
- Whether bitcoin held the $76,000–$78,000 range and sustained its recovery above $80,000–$82,000.
- Binance’s progress in completing withdrawals and demonstrating its reserves.
- Credit spreads, oil prices and long-term Treasury yields.
- Whether ETF inflows returned.
These were monitoring points in the original report, not confirmed outcomes or price forecasts.