Brazil’s Mercado Bitcoin Suspends Services Amid $40 Million Security Incident

Mercado Bitcoin security incident — Brazil’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Mercado Bitcoin, has suspended all deposits and withdrawals following a security breach, with blockchain analysts estimating losses near $40 million.

The exchange announced on Monday that it had identified and contained the incident, stating that no customer funds were lost and no data was leaked. It described the suspension of services as a precautionary measure while its teams investigate, trace assets, and coordinate with authorities. The company has pledged to absorb all losses.

Mercado Bitcoin has published destination addresses on several blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum-compatible networks, Solana, Stellar, and Tron, for identification and tracking. Blockchain security firm Hypernative provided a preliminary estimate of over $40 million in suspicious transfers across these chains, a figure the exchange has not yet confirmed.

In related action, Tether CEO Paolo Ardoino announced that the stablecoin issuer has frozen more than 4.5 million USDT linked to the incident. The breach follows last week’s major attack on Binance, highlighting ongoing security challenges for centralized exchanges.