Brazil’s largest crypto exchange went dark on deposits and withdrawals this morning. Mercado Bitcoin says it found and contained a security incident in one of its systems overnight. The exchange insists customers lost nothing and no data leaked. Meanwhile, blockchain trackers are watching tens of millions of dollars move out of its wallets.
So here is what we know, what we don’t, and what to do if you keep funds there.
What happened at Mercado Bitcoin
The first official statement landed on X on November 2, translated from Portuguese. Mercado Bitcoin identified a security incident early in the morning and says it was quickly contained. As a precaution, it suspended all deposits and withdrawals. Its teams are tracking the assets and coordinating with authorities.
A few hours later came a second update with the destination addresses. The exchange shared five of them, one each on EVM chains, Bitcoin, Solana, Stellar and Tron. These were published purely so the community can help trace the funds.
That is the whole official story so far. No cause, no amount, no timeline for reopening.
How much was stolen
Mercado Bitcoin has not confirmed a number. Third parties have.
Security firm Hypernative flagged more than $40 million in suspicious transfers across at least ten blockchains. Arkham went further and tagged a “Mercado Bitcoin Hacker” entity holding roughly $46.5 million across 61 addresses. An Arkham analyst also noted the attacker was sweeping old deposit addresses while dumping memecoins and altcoins.
Some of it is already stuck. Tether froze over 4.5 million USDT linked to the incident, and total frozen assets across tokens are reported above $9 million. Whether any of that flows back to the exchange is still unknown.
Treat every figure above as an estimate until Mercado Bitcoin publishes a post mortem.
Why this one matters
Mercado Bitcoin is not a small regional player. It handles more than half of Brazil’s retail crypto activity and is the domestic leader in our guide to the best crypto exchanges in Brazil. Millions of Brazilians use it for instant Pix deposits.
Timing makes it worse. This comes just days after the Binance hack, the largest exchange breach in history. Two exchange incidents in one week is a pattern, not a coincidence, even if nobody has linked the two yet. The FBI pinned Binance on North Korea’s TraderTraitor group. For Mercado Bitcoin, no attacker has been named.
What to do if you have funds on Mercado Bitcoin
Right now you cannot move anything, so panic doesn’t help. Still, a few things are worth doing today.
First, change your password and check your 2FA. The exchange says no data leaked, but a fresh login setup costs nothing. Second, watch the official X account and nothing else. Scammers love these moments and will push fake “recovery” links within hours. Third, once withdrawals reopen, consider moving what you don’t actively trade to self-custody.
As always, we are watching this one closely and will update this post as the exchange shares more. Our airdrop safety page covers the basics of keeping your funds out of situations like this.
Keep This Content Free
Hack coverage like this is free because readers support us through our partner links. If you want to spread your exchange risk after this week, our referral links for OKX and Bybit get you a signup bonus and keep AirdropAlert running.
Final Words
Mercado Bitcoin says customers are safe. Hopefully that holds. Yet the on-chain picture shows at least $40 million walking out the door, and the exchange has not explained how. Until withdrawals reopen and a post mortem lands, keep your expectations low and your login hygiene high.
We will keep this post updated.
FAQ
Was Mercado Bitcoin hacked?
Mercado Bitcoin confirmed a security incident on November 2 and suspended deposits and withdrawals. It has not used the word hack, but security firms tracked $40 million or more in suspicious outflows.
Did Mercado Bitcoin customers lose money?
The exchange says there was no harm to customers and no data breach. Nothing so far contradicts that, but withdrawals remain frozen.
When will Mercado Bitcoin withdrawals reopen?
No timeline has been given. The exchange says it is working to restore operations safely.
Is the Mercado Bitcoin hack linked to the Binance hack?
No link has been confirmed. The Binance breach was attributed to North Korea. Nobody has been named for the Mercado Bitcoin incident.
