Banker og betaling
Exchange rates and your portfolio
Almost everything a European investor buys is priced in dollars underneath: bitcoin, US equities, gold, most global ETFs. Your euro return is always two moves at once.
How the effect arises
If bitcoin gains 10% in dollars while the euro strengthens 5%, you keep roughly 5% in euro. Conversely, a flat dollar price can still be a gain if the euro weakens.
Over multi-year periods the dollar move often explains several percentage points a year of difference between the chart and your account.
That is why euro conversion on our price pages always uses the live rate.
Return in dollars versus in euro
| Asset move | Euro move | Result in euro |
|---|---|---|
| +10% | euro +5% | about +5% |
| +10% | euro −5% | about +15% |
| 0% | euro −5% | about +5% |
| −10% | euro +5% | about −15% |
To hedge or not
Currency-hedged ETFs remove most of the effect at a cost and a small rate differential. For bonds that is often sensible: the currency move exceeds the expected return.
For equities and crypto it is less obvious. The dollar often moves opposite to risk assets, so the unhedged version can be steadier in euro during bad spells.
If you live and spend in euro you need not hedge every wobble, but you should account for it when judging short-period returns.
What drives the dollar
Rate differentials are the main engine: when US rates rise relative to European ones, capital flows there and the dollar usually firms.
Risk appetite matters too. In stress periods capital seeks the dollar as a haven, even when the stress originates in the United States.
Both factors sit side by side on our rates and FX page so you can place the move rather than merely absorb it.
Anbefalt av redaksjonen
Eksterne parter. Block #9 oppbevarer ikke dine midler. Ikke investeringsråd.
Ofte stilte spørsmål
Should I pick a currency-hedged ETF?
Usually yes for bonds; for equities and crypto it is a trade-off between stability and cost.
Why does my euro return differ from the chart?
Charts are often in dollars. The gap is the currency move over the same period.
Does bitcoin track the dollar index?
Often inversely: a strong dollar frequently coincides with weaker risk assets, but the link is not constant.
Les videre
Reading the yield curve
The yield curve, the 2s10s spread and country spreads explained — and what an inverted curve has historically meant for equities and crypto.
Nostro, vostro and correspondent banking
How money actually moves between banks and across borders: nostro and vostro accounts, correspondent banks and why an international transfer can take days.
The yen carry trade
What a carry trade is, why the Japanese yen funded it for decades, and how its unwind in August 2024 hit crypto and equities at the same time.