Mercado Bitcoin says it will cover losses after $38M hack

Brazilian crypto exchange Mercado Bitcoin says it will cover about $38 million in losses after hackers drained its wallets, promising customers will not lose funds. The pledge puts the cost on the exchange as it works to trace stolen assets and restore access.

CoinDesk’s report says the attack hit hot wallets across at least 10 blockchains. Mercado Bitcoin said around $38 million was lost and about $11 million had been frozen with help from Tether, Circle and Chainalysis.

How much was taken, and what has been frozen?

Estimates differ. Chainalysis said the incident involved approximately $49 million in stolen funds across 17 blockchains, while Mercado Bitcoin put its loss at around $38 million. The figures may reflect different counts; the exchange has not confirmed the larger estimate.

Chainalysis’s account of its response says investigators traced the transfers and coordinated with law enforcement and stablecoin issuers. It reported that Tether froze more than $9 million in stolen funds, with further freezes over the following hours. CoinDesk reported the combined amount frozen at about $11 million.

Does the pledge mean customers have been repaid?

Mercado Bitcoin says customers will not lose money, but that is a commitment to cover the loss, not confirmation that stolen assets have been recovered or that reimbursements have been made. Chainalysis described the funds as stolen; its report does not establish how the exchange will account for each customer’s balance.

The exchange also said no customer data leaked and that its teams were investigating and coordinating with authorities, according to CoinDesk. It temporarily suspended platform access as a precaution. The company has not publicly identified how the attacker got in.

The exchange’s promise matters because the stolen amount is larger than the funds reported frozen so far. Those freezes can limit what the attacker can move, but they do not by themselves make customers whole. The exchange has not said whether it will use company reserves, insurance or another source to cover the gap.

What should Mercado Bitcoin customers watch next?

Watch for the exchange to restore deposits and withdrawals and explain how customer balances will be protected. Mercado Bitcoin has said it plans to restore the platform in the coming days, but no specific date was reported. Until it confirms access is safe, customers should follow updates through the exchange’s official channels.

Source material

• CoinDesk’s report — coindesk.com
• Chainalysis’s account of its response — chainalysis.com