Short answer: Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's largest crypto exchange, has been hit by a hot-wallet hack. On November 2, 2026, the company said it would absorb a loss of roughly $38-40 million from its own funds; blockchain trackers put the total higher, with Arkham estimating about $46 million and Bitquery $48.5 million across ten blockchains. About $11 million has been frozen with help from Tether, Circle and Chainalysis. The exchange says customer funds were not affected and no personal data was exposed, and it temporarily suspended access to its app as a precaution. It has not said how the attacker got in or when deposits and withdrawals will fully resume.
What happened at Mercado Bitcoin?
According to Bloomberg, CoinDesk and PYMNTS, the attacker drained hot wallets on several chains. One account lists Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, TRON, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Chain and Stellar among the networks hit. Mercado Bitcoin says it identified and contained the incident, that the stolen funds were the company's operational balances and that it will cover the loss in full.
Not everyone agrees with the "no customer losses" claim. Several on-chain analysts shared evidence that the attackers also moved funds from some customer deposit wallets. The company has not addressed those claims in detail. For users the practical difference is small as long as the exchange makes good on its promise, but it matters for how the breach is investigated.
Key facts
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Exchange | Mercado Bitcoin, Brazil's largest crypto exchange |
| Disclosed loss | About $38-40 million, absorbed by the company (November 2, 2026) |
| Tracker estimates | Arkham ~$46 million; Bitquery $48.5 million across 10 blockchains |
| Frozen | About $11 million, with Tether, Circle and Chainalysis |
| Company position | Customer funds unaffected, no personal data compromised (disputed by some analysts) |
| Measures | App access temporarily suspended |
| Unknown | How the attacker got in; when deposits and withdrawals fully resume |
Two exchange hacks in one week
The Mercado Bitcoin breach came just days after the record $6.3 billion theft at Binance, described in Binance hack: $6.3 billion stolen. There is no public evidence that the two are linked. What they share is the target: hot wallets, the online wallets every centralized exchange keeps to process withdrawals quickly. Exchanges keep most assets in cold storage, but whatever sits in hot wallets is exposed to anyone who compromises the systems or people that control them. The same pattern hit Bitget in September.
Stablecoin issuers again played a role. As with Binance, freezes by Tether and Circle cut the attacker's haul, but only for USDT and USDC; native coins such as BTC, ETH and SOL cannot be frozen that way.
What Mercado Bitcoin users should do
- Use only the official app and site. After any hack, fake support accounts and "refund" pages appear in hours. Never share passwords, 2FA codes or seed phrases.
- Wait for official reopening notices before sending new deposits.
- Check your account history once access returns, and report anything you did not initiate.
- Do not keep idle balances on any exchange. Move long-term holdings to your own wallet; see self-custody security.
- For swaps, use services that pay out straight away. With a non-custodial exchanger your coins are on the platform only for the minutes of the swap. Compare options in Changerella App or the exchangers list.
FAQ
Was Mercado Bitcoin hacked?
Yes. Mercado Bitcoin's hot wallets were drained in early November 2026. The exchange said on November 2 that it would absorb a loss of about $38-40 million.
How much was stolen from Mercado Bitcoin?
The company puts the loss at roughly $38-40 million. Blockchain trackers estimate more: about $46 million according to Arkham and $48.5 million according to Bitquery, spread across ten blockchains.
Are Mercado Bitcoin customer funds safe?
The exchange says customer funds were not affected and it will cover the loss from its own money. Some analysts have shared on-chain evidence that funds also moved from some customer wallets; the company has not addressed this in detail.
Is the Mercado Bitcoin hack linked to the Binance hack?
There is no public evidence of a link. Both incidents targeted exchange hot wallets within the same week.