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Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin froze cryptocurrency deposits and withdrawals on November 2, 2026, after finding a security problem in one of its systems, according to U.Today. The exchange, a payments partner of Ripple, said the breach harmed no users and exposed no personal data, and described the halt as a precaution while its teams investigated.
Mercado Bitcoin reported the containment in a statement posted on X, saying the issue was identified and mitigated the same morning. The company did not say which system was affected, how much was taken, or when deposits and withdrawals would reopen.
Also readTether freezes over 4.5M USDT after Mercado Bitcoin breach
Key facts
- Mercado Bitcoin suspended deposits and withdrawals on November 2 after detecting a security incident; the company said no customer funds were lost and no data was breached.
- Blockchain security firm Hypernative estimated preliminary suspicious transfers above $40 million across Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Tron, Polygon, Arbitrum, Avalanche, BNB Smart Chain and Stellar.
- Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino said more than 4.5 million USDT tied to the incident was frozen by the stablecoin issuer.
- Mercado Bitcoin published wallet addresses linked to suspicious transactions to help investigators track possibly compromised assets.
- Bitcoin Magazine reported, citing Bloomberg, that the company said it would absorb all losses, and noted Tether invested $20 million in Mercado Bitcoin in July.
What the exchange has and has not disclosed
The exchange said its security teams were tracing assets and working with authorities, and promised updates through official channels. It has not named the agencies involved, the number of accounts affected, or whether trading functions beyond deposits and withdrawals were disrupted, crypto.news reported. Mercado Bitcoin also has not confirmed Hypernative’s $40 million figure; Bitcoin Magazine noted other analysts cite higher estimates and that asset sweeping was still ongoing.
Mercado Bitcoin has been the flagship Brazilian partner for Ripple, which announced in October 2024 that the exchange would be the first customer in the country to use its managed end-to-end payments product to streamline cross-border transactions and treasury operations between Brazil and Portugal.
Also readBlumenthal Demands Cantor's Tether Records by Oct. 23
Why it matters
The freeze removes a core function for users of Brazil’s largest crypto exchange, leaving them unable to move funds onto or off the platform until service is restored. It landed in a rough stretch for the industry: crypto.news reported that Binance suffered a breach on October 29 affecting roughly $6.3 billion in assets and that BTCPay Server warned on November 1 of unauthorized withdrawals from hot wallets. Bitcoin Magazine reported the FBI attributed the Binance attack to North Korea, and that Binance had replaced about 95 percent of stolen assets by November 1. Tether’s rapid freeze of USDT tied to the Mercado incident shows stablecoin issuers taking an active role in containing losses, a pattern repeated after the Binance breach.
What to watch
The next signals are Mercado Bitcoin’s timetable for restoring deposits and withdrawals, its first confirmed accounting of the assets involved, and whether Hypernative’s preliminary estimate holds as investigators review wallet activity across the listed networks.
Sources: U.Today, crypto.news, Bitcoin Magazine
