Mercado Bitcoin — cyberattack drains $46M+ from Brazil's largest crypto exchange; deposits/withdrawals suspended
Severity: high · Patch status: no-fix-needed · Since 2026-11-02
Mercado Bitcoin, Latin America's largest digital assets platform with ~4.5 million customers, suspended all deposits and withdrawals after a cyberattack on Monday morning. Blockchain security firms reported over $46 million in cryptocurrency siphoned from the platform late Sunday night, with blockchain evidence contradicting the company's claim that customer funds were untouched. Tether froze ~$4.5 million and other platforms froze ~$2 million; Chainalysis is tracking the funds. The company shared destination addresses and pledged to restore service in coming days. The incident follows a $6.3B Binance theft attributed to North Korean hackers and an AI-assisted breach at Chainalysis itself. No fix applies; response is asset tracing and freezing.
What to do
- Monitor Mercado Bitcoin status before transacting; assume deposits/withdrawals remain suspended
- If holding assets on the platform, review exposure and follow official withdrawal guidance once service resumes
- Exchanges and custodians: screen for the published stolen-fund destination addresses and freeze matching deposits
- Track Chainalysis/Tether updates on fund tracing and freezing efforts
- Harden hot-wallet controls and withdrawal monitoring against similar exchange heists
Sources
All live incidents on Threat Watch