TLDR
- Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals on November 2 following a reported security breach.
- Blockchain security firm Hypernative estimated suspicious transfers exceeding $40 million across at least 10 networks.
- Arkham Intelligence analyst Emmett Gallic reportedly traced more than $46 million in transfers linked to the incident.
- Mercado Bitcoin stated that customer funds remained unaffected and no personal information was exposed.
- Researchers tracked bitcoin, ether, solana, stellar and avalanche tokens moving into suspected attacker-controlled wallets.
Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals on Monday, November 2, after investigators spotted suspicious transfers from wallets linked to the platform. Security researchers estimated losses exceeding $40 million.
Comunicado oficial:
Identificamos e contivemos com rapidez um incidente de segurança em um de nossos sistemas nesta madrugada.
Reforçamos que:
• Não houve nenhum prejuízo aos clientes;
• Não houve vazamento de dados.Como medida preventiva de proteção, depósitos e saques…
— Mercado Bitcoin (@MercadoBitcoin) November 2, 2026
Arkham Intelligence analyst Emmett Gallic later tracked more than $46 million in transfers. Mercado Bitcoin has not confirmed a loss figure or explained how the attacker gained access. The reported figures remain estimates from outside analysts, not confirmed company disclosures.
Mercado Bitcoin Wallets Drained Across Multiple Networks
Security firm Hypernative reported suspicious activity across at least 10 blockchains, including Ethereum, Bitcoin, Solana, Tron, Polygon, Avalanche and Stellar. Most transfers occurred between 06:19 and 06:53 UTC, according to researchers.
The suspected attacker received about 2,852 ETH, 106 BTC, 10,700 SOL, 6.7 million XLM and 77,000 AVAX. The wallets also held more than 200 other tokens.
Researchers found ordinary wallet transfers rather than a smart contract flaw. The incident followed the record $6.3 billion Binance theft reported on October 29.
Exchange Says Customers Suffered No Losses
Mercado said it identified and contained the breach early Monday. It reported no customer losses or leaked personal information, while keeping deposits and withdrawals closed during its investigation.
The exchange published wallet addresses across Bitcoin, Solana, Tron, Stellar and Ethereum-based networks. It said its teams were tracing the missing assets and working with authorities.
Tether Freezes Funds Linked to Breach
Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said the company froze more than $4.5 million in USDT linked to Mercado’s incident. Separately, Binance has begun restoring withdrawal services after its own breach.
Binance said it had covered roughly 95% of the affected assets by Sunday. Its recovery effort includes company funds and frozen tokens, while investigators continue following stolen cryptocurrency.
Other Crypto Platforms Face Security Incidents
The FBI attributed the Binance theft to North Korea’s TraderTraitor group on October 31. Officials said the hackers were converting assets into ether. No evidence publicly connects that group to Mercado.
On October 29, prediction market operator Polymarket reported a separate security breach tied to a third-party service provider. Estimated customer losses reached $2.7 million, and trading briefly stopped.
Mercado has not named a suspect or set a date for reopening deposits and withdrawals. The company said its investigation and efforts to trace the transferred assets remain underway as investigators review transactions.
