Cryptoupdated 46m ago2 min read
Mercado Bitcoin Vows Full Customer Reimbursement After Hack Losses Exceed $46 Million
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Hack losses estimated at about $46–49 million by blockchain analysts. Mercado Bitcoin will fully reimburse customer losses from its own funds.
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Reimbursement Pledged
Mercado Bitcoin said it will fully reimburse customer losses from a hack with its own funds after blockchain analysts estimated the stolen amount at more than $46 million. Mercado Bitcoin said it would restore account access services first, while withdrawals and trading would resume after separate security checks, and it said the affected assets would be covered with its own funds. Blockchain analysts estimated more than $46 million was stolen, and Mercado Bitcoin said more than $15 million of the affected funds has already been frozen with help from industry participants.
Mercado Bitcoin said the attackers transferred funds out of the exchange's hot wallets and customer deposit addresses through standard transfer methods, and it said it has sufficient cash reserves to address liquidity concerns. Tether invested $20 million to support operational expansion, and Mercado Bitcoin said the affected assets would be covered with its own funds.
Phased Reopening
Mercado Bitcoin said it will begin restoring customer account access Monday, while withdrawals and trading remain suspended pending security checks. Mercado Bitcoin told Cointelegraph that customers would initially regain access through its website to view balances, statements, holdings and investments. Mercado Bitcoin said transfers, withdrawals and trading will resume in later phases, subject to independent security testing, and it pledged to use company funds to replenish assets affected by the breach.
Mercado Bitcoin said its trading desk is preparing to begin the necessary repurchases in domestic and international markets, and it said more than $15 million in stolen funds had already been frozen with help from the industry. The exchange said the update follows its disclosure of a security breach on Monday, when attackers transferred funds from the company’s hot wallets and customer deposit addresses through standard transfers.
Loss Estimates Diverge
Chainalysis estimated the Mercado Bitcoin hack losses at $49 million, and ForkLog said the firm assisted in freezing nearly $10 million of the stolen funds.
ForkLog reported that Chainalysis said hackers extracted approximately $49 million in assets from 17 blockchains belonging to the Brazilian exchange Mercado Bitcoin.
ForkLog said Chainalysis analysts reported freezing nearly $10 million of the stolen funds, including over $9 million in USDT.
Vietnam.vn described a loss of 40 million dollars and said the hackers attacked the digital wallets, with assets withdrawn from at least 10 blockchains of the compromised wallets.
Vietnam.vn also said there are no indications suggesting that the hackers involved in the attacks on Binance and Mercado Bitcoin are related, and it cited Pablo Sabbatella, founder of Opsek, saying the biggest theft took place between 1:19 p.m. and 1:53 p.m. (Vietnam time).