Mercado Bitcoin began restoring read-only account access in phases on Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, a week after attackers stole an estimated $49 million. Customers could check their recorded holdings, but the Brazilian crypto exchange had not announced when withdrawals would resume.
Historical report: the original article was published Nov. 10, 2026, at 02:25:29 UTC+8.
Account visibility is not access to funds
A Mercado Bitcoin spokesperson told Cointelegraph that access would begin at 19:00 UTC, with all accounts expected to be viewable by 21:00 UTC. The balances shown would reflect holdings as they stood on Nov. 2, the day of the attack.
In a video on the exchange’s X account, Fabricio Tota, vice president of new business, said the company hoped this would reassure customers that their assets remained recorded on the platform. He described the phased reopening as “a more conservative approach” intended to prioritize security.
The distinction matters: being able to see a balance did not mean customers could withdraw it.
Exchange pledges to cover losses
Mercado Bitcoin said it was replacing the stolen assets with its own funds and that customers would not bear the losses. It pledged to cover all losses on Nov. 4, with company funds bolstered by a $20 million investment from stablecoin issuer Tether in July.
Tota said nearly all assets had not been touched or involved in the incident. He also said a portion of the stolen funds had been frozen in the hours after the exchange announced the attack.
For context, Mercado Bitcoin told Brazilian magazine Veja in late October that it had more than 4.8 million customers and had processed over 215 billion Brazilian reais ($39 billion) in cumulative transactions. Those figures describe the exchange’s reported scale, not proof that withdrawals were ready to restart.
Withdrawal timing and breach details remain unresolved
The planned next recovery step would require users to confirm their registration details before moving funds. The exchange intended to restore withdrawals through Pix, Brazil’s instant payment system, initially restricting transfers to accounts in the customer’s own name. Tota gave no date for either step.
Blockchain security analysts raised concerns that the attackers had gained access to addresses and drained funds through standard transfers rather than a smart contract exploit. Analysts traced some stolen funds to customer deposit addresses, but Mercado Bitcoin had not explained how its wallets were accessed.
Bitquery reported that, as of Nov. 4, wallets it linked to the attacker still held most of the stolen funds that had escaped freezes, including 106.07 BTC.
The reopening therefore marked a limited recovery milestone: account records were becoming visible again, while withdrawal access and the explanation for the breach remained outstanding.