Dollar dips ahead of US midterms; bitcoin stabilises after crypto heist

On November 2, the US dollar weakened and the euro strengthened as investors anticipated a busy week filled with the US midterm elections and interest rate decisions from central banks in Britain, Australia, Norway, and Sweden. In the cryptocurrency market, Bitcoin and Ether experienced a slight recovery following a massive $6.3 billion heist at Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange.

Traders also kept an eye on Middle East developments, with hopes for a diplomatic solution to the US-Iran conflict causing Brent crude futures to drop 3.9% for the day.

As of the latest update, the dollar had dropped 0.3% to 101.63 against a basket of other major currencies. The euro had climbed 0.5% to $1.1212, while the British pound strengthened slightly to $1.3414. The Japanese yen slightly weakened to 157.87 per dollar. The Australian dollar dipped to $0.7008 ahead of the Reserve Bank of Australia's decision on Tuesday to raise interest rates to a near two-decade high of 4.85%.

Bitcoin's value rose 0.2% to $77,976.98, having bottomed out at a six-week low on Friday. Ether increased 1.3% to $2,291.57, after sliding to a two-month low the previous week. Binance customers withdrew $3.64 billion, or 2.1% of its assets, as the exchange resumed service after hackers stole $6.3 billion from the platform last week.

The FBI suspects North Korea was behind the security breach. Binance reassured investors that withdrawals were stabilizing, and deposits remained substantial. Analysts believe that some investors may have dispersed their assets to self-custody wallets instead of transferring them to other exchanges.