- Mercado Bitcoin suffered a major security breach involving funds across 17 blockchains.
- The exchange and its partners have frozen around $11 million and continue tracking the remaining funds.
Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin has suffered a major security breach involving approximately $38 million in assets, prompting the platform to suspend deposits, withdrawals, and access to its services.
The incident occurred on November 2. Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis estimated that the attacker stole approximately $49 million across 17 blockchain networks. Mercado Bitcoin separately reported $38 million in affected assets and said its industry partners helped freeze $11 million.
The exchange assured customers that it would cover their losses and confirmed that the breach did not expose any personal data.
Mercado Bitcoin Suspends Services After Security Breach
Mercado Bitcoin detected unauthorized activity in one of its systems and temporarily suspended key platform operations while investigating the incident.
The suspension affected deposits, withdrawals, and access to its services. The exchange said it activated security protocols to protect customer assets and contain the incident.
Mercado Bitcoin has not revealed how the attacker gained access. However, blockchain investigations show that the attacker transferred funds across multiple networks.
Mercado Bitcoin also assured users that it would cover the losses resulting from the incident, meaning customers would not bear the financial impact. It further confirmed that there was no data leak.
The exchange has not provided a confirmed date for restoring normal operations. It said services would resume once all necessary security requirements had been met.
Chainalysis Estimates $49 Million Was Stolen Across 17 Blockchains
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis provided additional details about the attack, estimating that approximately $49 million in cryptocurrency was stolen.
According to the firm, the attacker moved funds in several waves across 17 blockchain networks. The largest amounts came from Bitcoin and Ethereum, although assets on other networks, including Base, Tron, and Polygon, were also affected.
Chainalysis said Mercado Bitcoin alerted its team shortly after detecting the breach. Investigators began tracing the transactions and identifying wallets that received the stolen assets.
Within 30 minutes of receiving the alert, Chainalysis had provided law enforcement agencies with wallet addresses linked to the incident to support efforts to freeze the funds.
The rapid response allowed investigators to identify assets that could still be blocked before the attacker moved them into harder-to-freeze cryptocurrencies.
Tether, Circle and Other Partners Help Freeze $11 Million
Mercado Bitcoin said cooperation with several cryptocurrency companies and security partners helped freeze approximately $11 million in assets.
The partners included Tether, Circle, Paxos, BRL1, and Chainalysis. The exchange also confirmed that its teams had identified additional assets that could potentially be frozen.
Chainalysis separately reported helping freeze nearly $10 million in stolen funds. More than $9 million of the frozen assets were in USDT, with Tether playing a major role in the recovery effort.
Other companies involved in the response included Ripple and Anchorage Digital, which worked alongside stablecoin issuers and law enforcement agencies to identify and restrict the movement of stolen funds.
Mercado Bitcoin reported $11 million in frozen assets, while Chainalysis reported nearly $10 million in the recovery effort. Both companies refer to overlapping funds, so adding the figures would double-count the recovered assets.
Mercado Bitcoin Continues Tracking the Stolen Assets
The exchange has published blockchain addresses associated with the suspicious transactions to help other platforms and investigators monitor the movement of the affected funds.
Mercado Bitcoin clarified that the addresses were disclosed strictly for identification and tracking purposes.
Its security teams continue working with industry partners and relevant authorities to trace the remaining assets and identify further opportunities to freeze funds.
The exchange’s reported $38 million figure and Chainalysis’ initial estimate of approximately $49 million reflect different reported assessments of the incident. Mercado Bitcoin has not clarified whether its $38 million figure represents the total affected assets before freezes or a later assessment.
For now, the priority remains recovering the stolen cryptocurrency, protecting customer funds, and completing the security checks required to restore platform operations.
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