Mercado Bitcoin hot wallets drained in a hack worth tens of millions; the exchange is offline and says customers will not lose assets
Mercado Bitcoin (crypto exchange hot wallets)
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Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin says it identified a security incident in the early hours of Nov 2 2026 that hit only its online hot wallets, not its offline cold wallets. It notified the authorities, suspended deposits and withdrawals and then took the platform temporarily offline, and says no customer data leaked and customers will not lose assets. In its Nov 2 evening update it said about US$11M had been blocked with help from Tether, Circle, BRL1, Paxos and Chainalysis, and about US$38M was still not blocked. Chainalysis, which helped trace and freeze funds, estimates about $49M was stolen across 17 blockchains, mostly Bitcoin and Ethereum. Crypto Times reports that Mercado Bitcoin later put the affected assets at about $36.3M with $12.9M blocked, and that it is preparing a gradual reopening with no confirmed date. The exchange has not said how the attacker got in.
Why this severity: Tens of millions of dollars drained from the exchange's hot wallets (estimates range from about $36M to $49M); Mercado Bitcoin says it will cover the loss and customer data was not exposed, but the platform remains offline
- Started
- Nov 2, 2026
Affected
- Mercado Bitcoin exchange hot wallets
Fixed in
No fixed release yet
Timeline5
Crypto Times reports that Mercado Bitcoin now puts the affected assets at about $36.3M with $12.9M blocked, and is preparing to restore platform access gradually as each function passes security checks, with no confirmed date.
Arkham reports that wallets linked to the attacker moved about $13.26M to 23 outside addresses and swapped stolen tokens for about $10.55M of ETH (4,605 ETH over 338 swaps), while a $650K bridge to Bitcoin through Bridgers appears to have been halted.
Mercado Bitcoin says it quickly identified and contained a security incident in one of its systems overnight, that customers suffered no losses and no data leaked, and that deposits and withdrawals are temporarily suspended as a precaution.
Chainalysis says an attacker moved assets across 17 blockchains in waves, draining an estimated $49M, mostly Bitcoin and Ethereum, and that it helped law enforcement and stablecoin issuers freeze nearly $10M, including more than $4M of USDT frozen by Tether.
In its evening update Mercado Bitcoin guarantees customers will not lose assets, says only its hot wallets were hit and the platform was taken offline, and puts the amount blocked at about US$11M with about US$38M not yet blocked. It warns it never asks for passwords, codes or recovery phrases and offers no refunds by link, WhatsApp or phone.
Advisories2
News & write-ups4
- Disrupting the Mercado Bitcoin Attack: How Chainalysis Led the Freeze of Nearly $10M in Stolen FundsChainalysis · Nov 2, 2026
- Mercado Bitcoin pledges to cover all user losses after near $40 million hackCoinDesk · Nov 3, 2026
- Mercado Bitcoin Plans Gradual Platform Reopening After $36.3M IncidentCrypto Times · Nov 4, 2026
- Mercado Bitcoin Attacker Swaps Tokens for $10.55 Million in ETH, Arkham SaysThe Defiant · Nov 4, 2026
Notes & caveats
Mercado Bitcoin customers have nothing to patch. Wait for the exchange's own announcements about reopening, and ignore anyone offering refunds or asking for passwords, codes or recovery phrases.
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