Mercado Bitcoin will cover client losses after estimated $46 million theft
Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's largest crypto exchange, confirmed a cyberattack and suspended deposits and withdrawals; blockchain security firms estimate more than $46 million left the platform, a figure the company did not confirm. The exchange says it will cover all customer losses and denies a data breach, while experts show blockchain evidence that some customer wallets were drained. Tether froze $4.5 million of the stolen funds and other platforms froze $2 million; the company pledged to restore the platform in the coming days.
What happened
Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's largest cryptocurrency exchange, suffered a cyberattack and suspended deposits and withdrawals. Blockchain security firms say more than $46 million left the platform; the company did not confirm the figure, said no data was breached, and announced it will cover all customer losses.
Why it matters
Customers cannot move funds while withdrawals are suspended, and blockchain security experts present evidence that some customer wallets were drained, contradicting the company's account. The company says it has about 4.5 million customers; similar attacks on exchanges in the last six months surpassed $100 million in losses.
What to do
Track the exchange's stated plan to restore the platform in the coming days, monitor the destination addresses it published, and review any crypto holdings on centralized exchanges. Tether froze $4.5 million and other platforms froze a further $2 million of the stolen funds.
For the technical team
- Affected
- Mercado Bitcoin, maior exchange de criptomoedas do Brasil, com 4,8 milhões de usuários; depósitos e saques suspensos apó · Mercado Bitcoin platform; the company calls itself the largest digital assets investment platform in Latin America, with about 4.5 million customers (posts cite 4.8 million users).
- Exploitation
- Exploitation confirmed by the exchange itself, which acknowledged the incident. Blockchain security firms estimate more than $46 million was siphoned, a figure the company did not confirm.
- Fix
- No fix applicable to this incident. Mitigation under way: Tether froze about $4.5 million of the stolen funds and other platforms froze a further $2 million; Chainalysis is tracking the coins to identify, freeze, and disrupt impacted funds. The exchange shared destination addresses for the stolen funds and pledged to restore the platform in the coming days.
- Vector
- Entry method not described in the sources. Blockchain security experts showed evidence that hackers siphoned funds from some customer wallets; Hypernative flagged over $40 million in suspicious transfers across roughly 10 blockchains. Deposits and withdrawals were suspended in response.
- More details
- The company says the attack did not harm customers and caused no data breach; several blockchain security experts dispute that assessment. Context reported by press: the attack comes days after $6.3 billion was stolen from Binance, blamed by the FBI and U.S. Secret Service on North Korean hackers, and a week after a Chainalysis incident in which hackers used artificial intelligence-backed tools to access its systems and internal tools.
Timeline
Exchange says it will cover all customer losses after the attack reportedly drained over $40 million.
Blockchain security firms raise the estimated outflow from the exchange to more than $46 million.
Day's roundup reiterates the reported $40 million hack on Brazil's largest crypto exchange; no new facts.
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The exchange officially confirmed the breach today; Hypernative flagged over $40 million in suspicious transfers and the company says customer data and assets are safe.
X post restates theft exceeding $40 million at the Brazilian exchange, with no new attack details.
Social media posts restate the reported theft of over $40 million from Brazil's largest crypto exchange.
Exchange suspends deposits and withdrawals; theft of over $40 million is reported.
Sources 8 sources
- @WatcherGuru @WatcherGuru
- @AshCrypto @AshCrypto
- @Kalshi_Crypto @Kalshi_Crypto
- @PabloSabbatella @PabloSabbatella
- @coinbureau @coinbureau
See all 8 sources
- @worldof100x @worldof100x
- Largest crypto exchange in Brazil confirms cyberattack as millions flow out of platform The Record
- @MandoCT @MandoCT
