Mercado Bitcoin Said Its Hack Was Contained, But Blockchain Data Tells a Different Story
Bitquery traced more than $48 million in stolen assets across 11 blockchains from Mercado Bitcoin-linked addresses, exceeding the exchange’s updated estimate of about $36.3 million. It found that 36,042 Ethereum deposit addresses were drained from 9:27 a.m. to 1:56 p.m. Brazil time on November 2—nearly four hours after the exchange said it had contained the breach. Though those addresses held only about $266,000, direct withdrawals suggest the attacker accessed private keys or transaction-signing systems, potentially putting other customer addresses at risk. Mercado Bitcoin has not explained the timing or estimate discrepancy and says it will cover customer losses. It advised customers to avoid reusing old deposit addresses; its planned November 9 reopening initially allows balance viewing only.
