Mercado Bitcoin Pauses Withdrawals After a Reported Breach of More Than $40 Million

By Kevin · 2026-11-03 · News

Nov. 3 (CandyPulse) — Another exchange, another emergency stop. Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's largest crypto exchange, paused deposits and withdrawals on Nov. 2 after a security incident. Blockchain security firm Hypernative estimates more than $40 million moved out of wallets linked to the exchange across at least 10 blockchains.

Key takeaways

Mercado Bitcoin halted deposits and withdrawals on Nov. 2 after a security incident
Hypernative estimates $40 million+ left exchange-linked wallets across 10+ chains; the exchange hasn't confirmed that figure
Mercado Bitcoin says it contained the incident, customers suffered no losses and no data leaked
Tether froze $4.5 million in USDT linked to the incident
No reopening date has been announced

What we know so far

Question	Answer
Exchange	Mercado Bitcoin (Brazil)
Action	Deposits and withdrawals paused
Estimated outflow	$40M+ (Hypernative); not confirmed by the exchange
Chains affected	At least 10
Recovered / frozen	$4.5M USDT frozen by Tether
Customer losses	None, the exchange says
Attacker and method	Unknown
Reopening	Not announced

On-chain analytics firm Arkham has tagged a "Mercado Bitcoin Hacker" entity holding about $46.5 million across 61 addresses, according to one report. That figure is unconfirmed.

Is it linked to the Binance hack?

The incident came just four days after Binance lost $6.3 billion from its hot wallets. So far there's no public evidence connecting the two attacks. Read Binance withdrawals resume with $3.64 billion in net outflows.

What users should do

Don't panic-move funds through unofficial channels; wait for official updates from Mercado Bitcoin
Ignore "recovery" offers on social media; they're almost always scams
For long-term holdings, consider a wallet you control

Related security stories: CoinDCX's $16 million retired-wallet loss and a dozen DeFi websites hijacked.

What's next

Watch for Mercado Bitcoin to confirm the loss, explain how the attacker got access and set a date to reopen. More on crypto news today.

Disclaimer: This article is for information only and is not financial advice. Crypto assets are volatile and can lose value. Always do your own research before making any investment decision.