Key Highlights
- Mercado Bitcoin began restoring customer logins on November 9, with access expected to reach all users by 6 p.m. local time.
- The first recovery phase allows customers to view balances and asset holdings but does not restore trading or fund transfers.
- The exchange said customer balance records were not altered and it would replenish affected balances using its own funds.
Brazilian cryptocurrency exchange Mercado Bitcoin began a phased restoration of customer access to its platform on Monday, November 9, following a $36.3 million security incident on November 2. Users can now log into their accounts through the official website to view balances and portfolio details. Access is being restored gradually during the afternoon, starting at 4 p.m. local time, with the exchange expecting all customers to regain login capability by 6 p.m.
According to the official announcement, this marks the first stage of the recovery process following a security incident identified on November 2. In this initial phase, customers can check total balances and asset holdings, broken down by category and individual asset. Trading, withdrawals, deposits, transfers of reais or crypto assets, card use, Pix and TED transfers, new product subscriptions, and account openings remain unavailable.
Balance records and asset positions
Mercado Bitcoin stated that customer balance records were not altered by the incident. The exchange said it will restore affected balances using its own funds. Displayed crypto asset balances reflect account positions as of November 2, before the incident. Real-denominated values use the exchange rates from that date and will be updated once trading resumes.
Limit orders that were open when the platform went offline on November 2 have been canceled. The exchange said this step was taken because market prices continued to move during the outage.
Digital fixed-income products were not affected and continued to update normally. Payments made by issuers during the interruption are held in accounts managed by Mercado Bitcoin. Digital variable-income assets also remain intact. For index-linked products, the displayed value reflects the updated unit price; for others, the value matches the November 2 position. Scheduled November distributions are held in managed accounts and will be credited once transactions are enabled.
Product-specific measures
For CryptoCredit products with installments or payments due in November, the exchange automatically shifted the payment date to December 1, 2026, without additional interest or fees. No margin calls will apply to collateral throughout November.
Staking and passive income products continued generating returns for digital-dollar assets such as USDT and USDC. Ethereum staking was temporarily discontinued during the interruption. Accrued returns are expected to be credited when the relevant modules are reactivated, with prior notice.
Deposits of reais made after November 2 that have already left customers’ originating bank accounts will be credited once deposit processing resumes. Crypto assets sent to valid Mercado Bitcoin addresses will be credited when send-and-receive functions are restored.
Next steps in the recovery process
The exchange said the next phase is scheduled for the following week. It will include mandatory account information revalidation, in which all customers must confirm details and register new passwords exclusively through the Mercado Bitcoin mobile app before they can move funds. Pix withdrawals will initially be limited to accounts matching the customer’s name and CPF. Deposits may be accepted from different account holders. Payments from digital fixed-income issuers will be credited to real balances.
Trading, CryptoCredit functions, staking, passive income features, card services, and crypto transfers are planned for later stages. The exchange said each step will be announced in advance on its official channels.
Context of the security incident
The phased reopening follows Mercado Bitcoin’s November 3 statement that it was preparing a gradual restoration plan after identifying a security incident the previous day. At that time, the exchange reported that affected assets totaled approximately $36.3 million and said customer assets remained secured with balances recorded in their accounts.
Blockchain analysis firm Arkham had previously tracked a portfolio of roughly $46.5 million linked to a suspected attacker across multiple addresses. Security researchers Specter reported that about $9.17 million in assets were earlier frozen.
In its latest update, Mercado Bitcoin said it had blocked more than 33 percent of the diverted assets. The unrecovered portion represents about 3 percent of the total assets under the exchange’s custody. The firm reiterated that it is replenishing customer balances with its own resources.
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