Mercado Bitcoin freezes deposits and withdrawals after over $40M in suspicious transfers

Brazil's largest crypto exchange confirmed a security incident as Hypernative flagged multi-chain outflows from linked wallets Brazil’s largest crypto exchange has hit the pause button. On November 2, 2026, Mercado Bitcoin (MB) confirmed a security incident in one of its systems and temporarily suspended deposits and withdrawals. The trigger was more than $40 million in suspicious transfers from wallets linked to the exchange, flagged by blockchain security firm Hypernative. What happened overnight According to Hypernative, the suspicious outflows moved across approximately ten different blockchain networks. Hypernative’s data shows most of the activity landed in a tight window. The bulk of the transfers took place between 3:19 a.m. and 3:53 a.m. local time on November 2. MB moved to freeze deposits and withdrawals as a precautionary step right after the incident. The exchange says the breach was contained quickly. Its messaging to customers has been firm on two points. The company said there was “no prejudice to clients” and no data leakage, framing customer asset protection as its top priority. There is a gap between those two narratives, though. MB has not confirmed the full sco...