Mercado Bitcoin Puts Incident Losses at $38 Million

Will customers lose assets in Mercado Bitcoin’s security incident? The Brazilian exchange says no: it put the assets involved at about $38 million and said it would cover any customer losses. In its Monday update, Mercado Bitcoin’s statement, reported by Unchained, said $11 million had already been blocked with help from Tether, Circle, Paxos, BRL1 and Chainalysis.

How much was involved, and how much has been blocked?

Mercado Bitcoin’s $38 million figure is its own estimate of the assets involved, while security firm Hypernative had earlier estimated that more than $40 million was drained from wallets it linked to the exchange, according to Unchained. CoinDesk also reported the exchange’s $38 million estimate and the $11 million freeze, citing its posts on X. The exchange said it had identified more funds that might be blocked and that containment was continuing.

Why are deposits and withdrawals still suspended?

The exchange said it detected the incident in the early hours of Monday, November 2, and suspended access to services as a precaution while it activated security protocols. It has not said how the incident happened; its first statement said there was no customer data leak. The pause means customers cannot deposit or withdraw through the platform until Mercado Bitcoin says security conditions are fully restored.

For you, the key distinction is between assets moved in the incident and customer losses: Mercado Bitcoin says the former total about $38 million and promises the latter will be zero. It also says teams are tracing assets and coordinating with authorities, while the exchange has not announced a reopening time. Watch its official channels for a resumption decision and any revised figure for funds recovered or blocked.

References

• Mercado Bitcoin’s statement, reported by Unchained — unchainedcrypto.com