Mercado Bitcoin security incident has led to a temporary suspension of deposits and withdrawals. The Brazilian exchange confirmed the breach on November 2.
Blockchain security firm Hypernative separately identified over $40 million in suspicious transfers. Those transfers link to the exchange.
Why the Mercado Bitcoin security incident matters
Mercado Bitcoin said customer funds were unaffected. However, it has not confirmed the reported losses. It also has not disclosed how the attack occurred.
Mercado Bitcoin suspends deposits and withdrawals
Mercado Bitcoin posted an official statement on X. It identified a security incident in one system early Monday. The exchange immediately contained the breach. It then started investigations.
The company said customers had no losses. It also said attackers did not access personal information. “There was no harm to customers,” the exchange stated. It added that there was no data breach.
Nevertheless, it temporarily halted deposits and withdrawals. This allowed security teams to investigate. Mercado Bitcoin said it was monitoring assets and communicating with authorities. However, it did not give a timeline for resuming services.
Hypernative identifies over $40M in suspicious transfers
Hypernative detected irregular transactions in wallets linked to Mercado Bitcoin. The transfers spanned at least 10 blockchain networks. These included Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. Tron and other networks were also involved.
Preliminary findings showed about 106 BTC and 2,852 ETH. Researchers also found 10,700 SOL and 6.7 million XLM. The total suspected transfers exceed $40 million. Researchers also followed Avalanche and other tokens.
Most transfers occurred between 06:19 and 06:53 UTC. They followed some odd Bitcoin transactions. However, investigators have not confirmed that all wallets link to Mercado Bitcoin.
This incident follows a Binance security breach. That breach involved about $6.3 billion. North Korea’s TraderTraitor group was blamed for Binance. The Mercado Bitcoin attackers remain unidentified.
Wallet addresses used in Mercado Bitcoin security incident
Mercado Bitcoin published five wallet addresses linked to suspicious transactions. The addresses covered Ethereum-compatible networks and Bitcoin. Solana, Stellar, and Tron were also included.
The exchange shared this information to help investigators track assets. Its teams continued working to restore services. However, the company provided no confirmed reopening date.
This response follows similar measures at Binance. Binance recently replenished 90% of affected assets. It then restored withdrawals in phases.
Mercado Bitcoin has not disclosed a confirmed loss figure. It also has not published technical findings explaining the breach. The exchange maintains that customers remain unaffected. Meanwhile, investigators continue tracing the suspicious transfers.
Key takeaway
The Mercado Bitcoin security incident suspended deposits and withdrawals. Hypernative flagged over $40M in suspicious transfers. Customer funds remain safe, according to the exchange. Therefore, traders should watch for service updates and official statements.
