Dollar Flexes 18-Month Highs While Bitcoin Just Sips Its $86K Latte ☕

The U.S. Dollar Index climbed to roughly 102.5 on Monday, reaching its highest level in nearly 18 months as bitcoin held near $86,000, according to market data. The DXY has risen from around 99 in early September and now sits comfortably above its 200-day moving average, also near 99.

A stronger dollar typically pressures risk assets by raising the cost of servicing dollar-denominated debt abroad and cutting into overseas investors' purchasing power, while higher U.S. rates make cash and Treasuries more competitive against stocks and bitcoin. The Federal Reserve's September decision to raise rates by 25 basis points to a 3.75% to 4% target range has helped underpin the greenback, with markets now pricing a 4.5% to 4.75% range as the most likely outcome by June 2027, contributing to long-term U.S. yields reaching levels last seen more than two decades ago.

Euro weakness has amplified the move, with the euro falling toward 1.12 — a 17-month low — as fiscal pressure in France ahead of next year's presidential election and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez's snap election call for Nov. 29 weigh on regional confidence; the euro accounts for 57.6% of the DXY basket.

Bitcoin BTC $86,065.58 was up 0.94% and continued to trade above $86,000 following a strong start to October, even as tighter financial conditions and rising yields test its resilience against the dollar's surge.