W3BStation
Markets
BTC $96,420 +2.34% ETH $3,280 +1.82% SOL $185.40 -0.92% BNB $642.50 +0.45% XRP $2.18 +3.12% DOGE $0.082 -1.50% ADA $1.05 +0.80% AVAX $42.10 +1.15%
BTC $96,420 +2.34% ETH $3,280 +1.82% SOL $185.40 -0.92% BNB $642.50 +0.45% XRP $2.18 +3.12% DOGE $0.082 -1.50% ADA $1.05 +0.80% AVAX $42.10 +1.15%
11/03/2026

Mercado Bitcoin Promises Loss Coverage After $38M–$40M Wallet Breach

What happened: Brazil's Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals on November 2 after an attack drained hot wallets across at least 10 blockchains, with estimated losses of $38 million–$40 mi

Mercado Bitcoin Promises Loss Coverage After $38M–$40M Wallet Breach

What happened: Brazil's Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals on November 2 after an attack drained hot wallets across at least 10 blockchains, with estimated losses of $38 million–$40 million. The exchange pledged to absorb the full losses, while Tether froze more than $4.5 million in USDT and reporting placed total blocked assets at approximately $11 million through coordination involving Tether, Circle, Paxos, BRL1 and Chainalysis. The supplied research reports no customer-data leak, but the method used to obtain signing access remains unknown.

Why it matters: Mercado Bitcoin's coverage pledge and the asset freezes address separate problems: the pledge concerns who bears the financial loss, while blocking tokens limits an attacker's ability to transfer them. Approximately $11 million blocked should therefore not be described as money already returned to the exchange. Customers' practical position also depends on restored access, making the withdrawal suspension and any subsequent operational update as relevant as the headline loss estimate.

Sources: CoinDesk; crypto.news; Cryptonomist.