Mercado Bitcoin Freezes Deposits and Withdrawals After $40M Crypto Security Alert

Key Takeaways:

• Mercado Bitcoin blocked deposits and withdrawals after it spotted a security incident.
• According to the company, Hypernative has spotted more than $40 million in suspiciously sized transfers on 10 blockchains.
• The exchange says it has not compromised customer funds or data during the investigation.

Cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin has temporarily suspended withdrawals and deposits after security problems. Investigations have raised questions over the volume of off-chain activity, but funds and data are not affected, the company said.

Mercado Bitcoin Suspends Deposits and Withdrawals

In an official statement on X, Mercado Bitcoin said it had identified and quickly contained a security incident affecting one of its systems. The exchange highlighted two factors: customers were not at a loss for money and data was not leaked.

Comunicado oficial:

Identificamos e contivemos com rapidez um incidente de segurança em um de nossos sistemas nesta madrugada.

Reforçamos que:
• Não houve nenhum prejuízo aos clientes;
• Não houve vazamento de dados.

Como medida preventiva de proteção, depósitos e saques estão temporariamente suspensos. Nossas equipes estão mobilizadas investigando o caso, rastreando os ativos e coordenando as medidas junto às autoridades competentes.

Manteremos atualizações regulares por aqui.

— Mercado Bitcoin (@MercadoBitcoin) November 2, 2026

For a while, no deposits or withdrawals were accepted on the platform as a precaution pending the investigation by the platform’s security teams. The company stated that it was working to identify the hands on the assets and determined the cooperation plan with relevant authorities.

Mercado Bitcoin issued another update indicating that they were still working to safely restore operations to a normal state. It didn’t specify a definite date for the reopening of deposits and withdrawals.

Read More: Binance Says $6.3B Hit in Security Breach, $3B Frozen After DevOps Laptop Compromise

More Than $40 Million in Suspicious Transfers Reportedly Flagged

Its event garnered further excitement when blockchain security outfit Hypernative reportedly spotted over $40 million in suspicious transfers over around 10 blocks.

But it is not advisable to use the reported transaction value as a confirmed theft value. There’s been no public verification that $40 million worth of customer or company assets were stolen by Mercado Bitcoin and no breakdown of the flagged transfers.

The difference matters because unusual on-chain activity could be a sign of security risk, but to be certain of whether it was caused by unauthorized access and what assets were being accessed, an evaluation should be undertaken.

Exchange Publishes Wallet Addresses for Blockchain Tracking

On its sequel announcement, the agency, Mercado Bitcoin, revealed that it had some destination addresses linked to movements investigated. It includes EVM supported blockchains, Bitcoin, Solana, Stellar and TRON.

These addresses were shared only to assist in asset tracking and identification, the exchange said. These are what blockchain monitoring services and other market participants can keep an eye on for additional moves in relation to the identified destinations.

The multi-chain model is applicable as suspicious assets can easily traverse different blockchain networks, complicate the monitoring and/or tracking process.

Investigation Continues While Services Remain Suspended

Mercado Bitcoin has not disclosed any further technical details about the incident, affected systems, or if any wallets of the exchange were compromised.

At this time, a confirmed response was made to contain the incident, suspend all deposits & withdrawals for a while to help protect users, publish tracking addresses, and collaborate with authorities. The amount of $40M is reported but not confirmed as money stolen by the exchange.

Customers are being directed to follow the platform’s official communication channels for updates on the investigation and the restoration of services.

Read More: Binance $6.3B Hack Triggers FBI Probe While $3B in Stolen Crypto Gets Frozen

The post Mercado Bitcoin Freezes Deposits and Withdrawals After $40M Crypto Security Alert appeared first on CryptoNinjas.

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